Birds of Prey: Black Death
by Mixedfan8643
Summary: First entry in the Birds of Prey trilogy. This is the origin story for the Birds of Prey team in my DC-Earth. Join Batgirl, Black Canary and Huntress as they join together for the first time to stop The Ratcatcher from recreating the Black Plague and wiping out all of Gotham City with one terrible disease... Contains brutal violence and gore. Reader discretion is advised. CANCELLED
1. Chapter 1: Batgirl

**Author's Notes:** For continuity context readers, this story takes place after the death of Jason Todd, which does indeed happen in my DC Earth as well as all other DC Earths.

This story takes place on my DC Earth and NOT the main DCU or any other. Therefore, this story is to be viewed as the origin story of the Birds of Prey for Earth-8643.

 _Chapter 1: Batgirl_

The Gotham Rats Gang was about to be rumbled.

The funny thing is that neither member of that gang would be aware of this until it was too late. Tonight was going just as smoothly as every other night the gang had, not a single thing going wrong or anybody that shouldn't be around getting in their way. How were any of them to know that their operations were going to come to an end, here and now on this very night?

One of the members of the gang, a scrawny, ghastly looking man named Hector Woodworm, was on his way to the Rat's hideout. Hector was the sort of man whom upon first glance, immediately gave off the impression that personal hygiene was a foreign concept to him. He was filthy, not a single part of his body clean or well-looked after. He had a messy beard that seemed less like a beard and more like random tufts of hair sticking out of several parts of his face, and not one part of it looking tidy in any way. His teeth were so rotten that it was a miracle he hadn't lost any of them. His hair was black, greasy and full of nits. He'd never bothered to comb himself so his scalp was constantly itching like mad and he never stopped scratching himself. His colleagues in the gang would often joke he had fleas, which earned him the rather unflattering nickname of "Flea Boy". Hector hated being called that but didn't speak up against it for he knew the people in this gang were extremely violent and would kill him if he so much as raised his voice against them.

Hector's clothes did nothing more to make him look any less disgusting. He wore a t-shirt that was so thin and cheap that it seemed to just hang off of him like a towel on a clothes line. He wore tattered trousers that were too big for him, shoes that were falling to bits around his feet and a long, brown coat that clearly had never been washed in all the time he'd owned it. Because of his poor hygiene and dirty clothes, Hector always smelt revolting. He was amazed that anyone in the Gotham Rats Gang could put up with it. Maybe they'd gotten used to him over time or they just didn't care. None of _them_ smelt any better in comparison.

Hector strode through the dark, dingy alleyways as he headed to the hideout of his gang. He had been informed that the Rats were having a meeting and he had to attend just like the rest of the gang did. In the Gotham Rats, everything was done together and no member could sit out or miss anything. Hector wondered what it was that the Rats had to talk about tonight. Maybe their boss had a new job for them. He roamed through another alley, scowling at a stray cat that crept around beside the bins looking for good as he walked by. The cat didn't seem fond of him either, hissing angrily at him to carry on walking lest it be forced to scratch him. Hector didn't care; he hated cats and would happily shut the dustbin lid on it and have it taken to the rubbish tip. Instead, he carried on walking for now was not the time for his petty cat hate. He had found where he needed to be at the end of this alley. There was an old office that had long closed down and been perverted of its original use. This was the hideout of the Gotham Rats Gang. Dingy, rundown and ignored by society, it was the perfect place to hang out for nobody would ever think to look for them there…or so they thought.

Hector looked around to make sure nobody had followed him here. The coast was clear, not a single soul in sight. Even the cat at the dustbin didn't seem interested in watching him, scurrying away to find another bin to raid. The filthy man turned back to the door and rapped on it three times. He was greeted by a suspicious voice on the other side of the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Flea Bag." Hector replied, using his nickname. In this gang, nobody ever used their real names.

"What's da Rat's credo?" the voice replied.

"A rat sticks together, a rat never leaves the family. And last but not least, a rat NEVER rats out on his gang."

That seemed to be enough for the man at the door for it opened up and allowed him inside. Reciting the credo was the perfect security system for the gang. If nobody knew it, then they'd, appropriately enough, smell a rat. The Gotham Rats Gang was one of the city's most violent gangs ever. The name had come about for the gang liked to think of themselves as like rats in a way, vermin and pests in the city that needed to be exterminated but no attempts to get rid of them could do so. Priding themselves on secrecy and hiding in areas nobody would ever look, the gang had eluded police custody for many years, even if some of their men hadn't been so lucky. Nobody in the gang ever told on them for they all swore an oath that a rat NEVER rats anyone out. If the police ever did arrest any members, they'd only end up killing themselves just so they wouldn't be forced to spill the beans on the gang. The criminal group was infamous for being extremely cruel and brutal, leaving anybody who crossed their paths dead in the most grisly way possible. Just recently, they had caught someone eavesdropping on them and stopped him from driving away. The snooper had been found days later, still in his car…minus his head, which had been found scattered in chunks of brain and bone around the car with a puddle of blood around one of the wheels and the door. Their fearsome reputation had made them a force to be reckoned with in the GCPD and the public. Nobody dared approach them in fear of being brutally murdered, nobody that is…but Gotham's vigilantes.

Unknown to Hector, he had indeed been followed, the snooper sticking to the rooftops and following slowly so as not to be spotted. She had watched him recite the creed and be invited inside, confirming to her that this was the place the gang was in. The figure was dressed in a Bat-Costume, this one designed for a woman to wear. She had a cowl, a cape and even a utility belt but her costume was black and gold with the gauntlets, belt and boots being gold in colour while the rest of the costume was mostly black, save for the inside of her cape which was purple. Her red hair blew in the wind as she stood still like a gargoyle over watching the city. This was none other than one of Batman's closest friends and ally in his crime-fighting career, Batgirl.

Real name Barbara Gordon, Batgirl was the daughter of Commissioner James Gordon, Batman's closest ally in Gotham and a true role model to her. She had been fascinated by Batman and admired what he stood for, so she had wanted to join his superhero life and fight alongside the Dark Knight himself. And thus, she had become Batgirl and was among Batman's most capable and valuable assets thanks to her expertise in computers, her martial arts training and her incredible mind. She had been of great help to Batman and had even proven herself capable on her own. To her dismay, Commissioner Gordon had recently discovered who she was and had been adamant about her being Batgirl. He worried for her safety and had been furious that she'd willingly done this without ever telling him about it. But in the end, he had grown to accept that his daughter was as much a superhero as Batman was and that he didn't have anything to worry about as she was fighting by his side. In a way, he was even proud of her for being so brave and selfless and wanting to help Gotham's protector. Of course, this wouldn't stop him worrying for her but Barbara reassured her father that there won't ever be a day that he responds to a crime and her dead body will be what he sees at the crime scene.

Batgirl could already imagine how much of a field day her father was going to have when he came to arrest this gang now that she'd found their hideout. With any luck, the GCPD would be able to arrest all of them, and hopefully Batman wouldn't beat them half to death this time. She was almost tempted not to inform him of her find as she reached for the Bat-Communicator on her belt. But she did so anyway, remembering the plan. Batgirl took the bat-shaped device out from her belt and switched it on.

"Batgirl to Batman, I've found the Gotham Rats hideout." the red-head heroine announced, "I'll send the coordinates to you right away."

"Copy that." came the stoic voice of Batman, "Standby Batgirl, I'll take it from here."

"Like hell you will!" Batgirl retorted, "If I leave you alone in there with those guys, you'll put them in the morgue!"

"You know that I can't let anybody else die on my watch Batgirl. Remember Robin…" Batman replied solemnly.

"Of course, how could I forget what that bastard Joker did to him?" Batgirl murmured, "But still, you can't just shove me off to the side-lines because of his death. You're not invincible Batman, you'll need help on this."

"I need you to keep your distance and stay safe." the Dark Knight insisted, "You've played your part, now I'm stepping in. Batman out."

Batgirl rolled her eyes in annoyance. Why had her inspiration decided to become such a stubborn ass? She understood that he had become more jaded and sheltered since Jason Todd's death at the hands of The Joker. He didn't want anyone else close to him dying, which was fair enough. Even Dick Grayson hadn't been contacted in a while because of this, although that hadn't stopped him still keeping his crime-fighting career going over in Bludhaven as Nightwing. But he also needed to understand that he couldn't just blow her off like this and say he doesn't need her. He did, more than ever. Batgirl knew of how badly Jason's death had impacted Batman and she had been there to keep him reigned in when nobody else would, to stop him going too far. She was going to do that whether Batman wanted her to or not.

Inside the building, Hector had headed straight into the main room where the rest of the Gotham Rats had gathered. The gang was huge, consisting of several dozen men and women all in one room that had little to offer. Aside from a mini-bar loaded with drinks and snacks, a round table big enough to park a car on it with dozens of chairs and a dim, green light shining from a single lightbulb in a ceiling lamp, there was nothing that could constitute living in. Hector sat down at the end of the table, the last one to do so for everybody else was sat down. At the head of the table was the head man of the group. He wasn't the overall man in charge for the Gotham Rats answered to a higher authority but they knew that their boss didn't like to be there in person for these meetings. Instead, the head man would announce new developments and jobs for him. He was an athletic looking man with a slender frame, thick biceps and broad shoulders. His hair had been cut so short that he was practically a skinhead. He had tattoos on every inch of his arms, the tattoos ranging from skulls to flames and dragons. It was clear that he didn't care about making himself hard to recognize. As usual, the head man was sat in his chair with two voluptuous girls on either side of him, one a fiery red head and the other a lush brunette. They looked like hookers, the kind of girl who would shamelessly sell their bodies for a quick buck, the heavy make-up they wore doing little to dispel the interpretation. The head man blew smoke from a cigarette he had before beginning the meeting.

"Good to see you all here Rats." he announced, his voice sounding like he had a severe throat infection, "So you all ready for tonight's announcements?"

"Yes Rat King." the gang replied in unison.

Due to being the head man of the gang, it was only fitting that he'd been given such a nickname.

"Now then, the boss has told me ta pass this all on ta you guys and gals." Rat King explained, "He's planning to unleash a bunch of rats that'll be carrying some kind of disease, see? Carrying it RIGHT into the city and we're gonna be given the job of helping ta spread that disease. Ya hearing me?"

"Yes Rat King." the gang said in return.

"Hang on Rat King." Hector said hastily, raising his hand, "You're saying that our boss wants us to spread a disease?"

"Yes."

"What kind?"

"Never you mind that, we don't question the boss. We just do what he says, Flea Bag."

"Understood, but what if we get infected?" Hector asked nervously.

As usual, he was scratching his nit-infested hair. His scalp seemed to be burning tonight, itching a lot more than normal. He wondered if he might be developing a rash.

"We'll be given proper protection against it so we don't get contaminated, see?" Rat King replied, "We won't be in any danger at all."

"So what's this disease gonna do exactly?" asked one of the Rats, a huge tank of a man who looked as if he was 90% muscle. His gargantuan size had earned him the nickname of Beefcake among the gang.

"Maybe wipe out a few hundred peeps at most? It don't matter to us." the head man said, shrugging, "What matters to us is the aftermath. With a large chunk of the city dead, we can prey on the sick and dying, see? And with us protected from the disease, we'll be uninfected and nobody will be able to stop us from doing what we want, see? It'll be like helping ourselves to whatever we want and everybody will be too sick to get in our way!"

The entire gang murmured with interest. They certainly liked the idea of a diseased city with people too sick to try and arrest them or get in their way. It was the kind of scenario a criminal dreamed of, the freedom to steal what they wanted with nobody to get in the way!

"Uh, boss, forgive me for asking but, what if some bozo makes a cure for this disease?" asked another member of the Rats. He spoke with a thick Russian accent and had a moustache that was far larger than it had any reason to be. It almost covered his entire nose.

"That's the best part Bush Face!" Rat King exclaimed excitedly, "Our boss tells me that this disease HAS no cure! He's been working with some lady, see, who's tangled with Wonder Woman before, Doctor Poison or something like that, to make a disease that cannot be cured no matter what, see? He plans to test that theory as soon as possible so we'll be sending the disease carrying rats out into Gotham and spreading his plague!"

"When do we begin?" Bush Face asked.

"Once the delivery van arrives with the first lot of rats." the head man explained, "We'll know it's the one we want when we hear the driver honk his horn three times, that's what I've been told."

The gang all nodded in understanding. This was an operation they were quite eager to start. But before anybody could rise out of their seats and do anything, something whizzed through the air and embedded itself in the centre of the table, making the entire gang recoil in surprise. It was a Batarang, but this was the sort that had a nasty surprise hidden in it. Seconds after the Rats saw it, the gang was stricken by a colossal flash of bright light that filled the room and left them all momentarily blinded. Even closing their eyes made no difference, it was still too bright. A flash grenade always did the trick when disorienting the enemy. Nobody could see for a moment and they all stumbled around helplessly, wondering where they were. Rat King rubbed his eyes vigorously as he tried to regain his vision. He could only hear the sound of fists slamming into flesh and bone all around him. He also heard the sound of bodies hitting the ground and frantic gunshots being fired. It felt like an entire gang war was happening all around him, but he knew it couldn't be that. No gang in Gotham was armed with a Batarang. The skinhead rubbed his eyes again, his vision starting to clear at last. The first thing he saw was one of his men being knocked down to the ground by a figure in black and gold. He could see blurred shapes lying on the ground with splotches of red around them.

As his eyes finally focused and his vision returned, Rat King was able to properly see what was happening. Some of the gang members had shot each other in blind panic by accident, trying to shoot their attacker. Many of them were dead from their wounds, the floor stained with blood seeping from them. Any who hadn't been shot had been knocked out by their attacker, who Rat King could now clearly see was Batgirl. He scrambled for his gun, practically ripping it out of its holster.

"Batman?!" he exclaimed, "How the fuck did that creep find us?!"

He took aim but didn't get the chance to fire it as Batgirl pounced on him, seizing him by the wrist and twisting his hand sharply, causing him to drop the gun. It landed with a clatter on the floor and Batgirl kicked it away, still holding onto Rat King.

"Bat-GIRL actually, and it wasn't that hard considering one of your men can be smelt from a mile away!" the red-head sneered, "Maybe you guys shouldn't take the "Rats" part of your name so seriously and take a bath for once in your lives."

She followed up her remark with a flat-palmed strike to the face that broke Rat King's nose and threw him down onto the floor with a heavy thud that knocked him clean out. He lay still on the floor, blood streaming from his broken nose. Batgirl allowed herself the rare luxury of a smile, pleased to see things were going well. True, Batman would probably give her some length lecture on disobeying orders but hopefully he'd be grateful that she made his job a little easier for him. The computer whiz turned around and saw Bush Face and Beefcake charging towards her. Batgirl knew they would overpower her easily due to being much larger and stronger than her so she would have to fight smart. She ran towards them and threw herself down onto the floor, tackling Beefcake to the ground by sliding into his feet and tripping him up. The colossal man collapsed, grunting as he felt his teeth crack from the impact of his chin slamming into the floor. Bush Face swerved around and tried to grab Batgirl by the cape but the female vigilante was too quick for him. Batgirl's speed and agility made her just as formidable in a fight as Batman with his strength and cunning. She swung a roundhouse kick straight into the back of Bush Face's leg, causing it to buckle and he fell over sideways. As he bent down on one knee, Batgirl delivered a swift chop to the back of the head, knocking him out and leaving him to fall down onto the floor.

Batgirl was pleased with how things were going but didn't dare celebrate yet. There were still plenty of Rats left to take down and now their vision had cleared up from the flash grenade, they could see her and were quick to start shooting. Batgirl had no place to go other than under the table, quickly diving under before any of the bullets could hit her. Some of the Rats aimed under the table to try and shoot her but Batgirl rolled out of the way to dodge the shots. She then drew out a smoke bomb and tossed it out from under the table. It detonated, blanketing the entire room with a puff of smoke that shrouded everything. The gang members coughed and spluttered, unable to see as smoke clouded their vision. Batgirl snuck out from under the table and began incapacitating as many of them as she could before the smoke could clear. None of them dared fire their guns in fear of accidentally killing any of their own like they had before so Batgirl had an easier time now no one was shooting at her. She moved fast and quick, knocking out as many gang members as possible but unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough. The smoke cleared and there were still plenty of men and women left to take down. The two girls that sat beside Rat King earlier drew out a knife each and crept up on Batgirl as she knocked another gunman out. The brunette lashed out, stabbing Batgirl in the back of her shoulder. The vigilante yelled in anguish as she was penetrated and the brunette girl yanked it out, aiming to make another stab with the knife. Batgirl turned around and stopped her by grabbing her wrist while the red-head girl coming around to the side and making a stab with her own knife. Batgirl was able to avoid another stab but received a clash across the arm as she wasn't quite quick enough. Still holding onto the brunette girl, she swung her into the redhead and knocked the two prostitutes off their feet. They collapsed in a heap on the floor. They tried to stand but Batgirl punched them both in the back of their heads, knocking both women out at once. She grabbed the knives and threw them out of the nearest window so nobody else could use them.

She winced as her shoulder wound flared up, blood seeping down her back. Batgirl tried her best to ignore the pain, but it was getting hard to do so as the pain got worse. One of the Rats took advantage of this by creeping up on her and punching her right in the stab wound. Batgirl screamed, the pain shooting down to her arm and numbing it for a second. Then the attacker backhanded her across the head, throwing her down onto the floor. Batgirl picked herself up, just in time to see Beefcake running towards her. His enormous hands were balled into fists and he launched them straight at the injured Batgirl. She didn't have time to dodge, grunting as a punch strong enough to shatter glass landed squarely in the side of her jaw. Batgirl reeled to the side, the red-head wondering which way was up or down now her head was spinning. The Gotham vigilante tried to regain herself, only for Beefcake to punch her again and send her crashing into a wall. Batgirl was barely able to stand up after that, black dots dancing in her vision. She felt like she'd been punched by an elephant wearing a boxing glove on its trunk. Her cheek was bruised and blood trickled down the side of her mouth.

 _Don't pass out, don't pass out, whatever you do, DON'T pass out!_ she screamed in her mind, forcing herself as best as she could to stay conscious.

Beefcake lumbered towards her and picked her up by the neck, not even straining as he did so. To him, Batgirl was as heavy as a bag of feathers. The huge ape of a man grinned wickedly as his grip tightened.

"The Rats will rip you apart and send you back to Batman, piece-by-piece, as a warning not to mess with us!" he boomed, his voice like a thunderclap, "I'll start by tearing your pretty head right off your neck!"

Batgirl didn't doubt for a minute he was strong enough to do so, squirming as she tried to get free. But luck was on her side as before Beefcake could do what he had stated, a grappling hook shot out from nowhere and dug itself deep into the muscular man's shoulder. Beefcake howled in pain, dropping Batgirl and staggering back as the grappling hook pulled on him and dragged him towards the person who had fired it. Batgirl looked up to see the familiar figure of Batman towing Beefcake towards himself with little effort. He gave one final yank, pulling the gargantuan brute onto this back. The moment was brought down, Batman quickly moved in and jabbed a finger into the side of his neck. He had hit a pressure point and had knocked him out with it, pressing hard enough just to do that and not kill him. Beefcake lay still, his enormous chest rising and falling with his breathing. Batman approached Batgirl, his face stern and masked with silent fury.

"I told you to stay out of this." he said grimly, his voice level but still with a faint edge of anger.

"Just wanted to make sure you didn't cripple too many guys here." Batgirl retorted, "I thought you'd _at least_ be grateful that I'm making your job here tonight easier by giving you less criminals to deal with."

Batman just shook his head disapprovingly. He would talk with her about this later, now was not the time for a lecture. His keen eyes swept around the room to see how many more opponents there were left to fight. There was only about twenty that weren't unconscious or dead. That was fine enough, twenty men were hardly a challenge for him or Batgirl. The two Bat-vigilantes stood side by side, ready to take them down.

"Fine, we'll do this together." Batman muttered, "But just for tonight."

Batgirl rolled her eyes but said nothing. There was no point arguing with Batman, especially when they were fighting for their lives at this moment. The remaining Rats charged towards their prey, guns and knives at the ready to shoot or stab them to death. By the time they were finished with these two, there'd be enough holes in them to pass off as Swiss cheese! Or at least that'd be the case if any of them were actually able to land a blow on them. Batman moved in quickly, becoming a black blur as he attacked. One criminal was so startled by how fast Batman moved that he didn't even realize he'd been hit until a few seconds after. Next thing he knew, he was down on the ground with his gun knocked out of his hand and his wrist in total agony. He wasn't given any time to rub it better as Batman kicked him hard in the side of his head to knock him out. He didn't even feel the blow as he was brought down into unconsciousness. Another Rats member tried shooting at Batman, but the bullets deflected off of his Batsuit. Ever since he'd upgraded the suit, bullets were far less effective against him now so he could take the shots a lot easier than before. The Dark Knight seized the man by the arm and forced it around, causing him to aim and shoot at his colleagues. Two men were hit in the arm and leg respectively while the others scurried for cover to avoid being hit. One of them mistakenly ran into Batgirl, who grabbed him by the shoulders and drove her knee up into his face, rendering him unconscious in one massive blow.

Batman then sharply pulled down on the gunman's arm, making him drop the gun into the floor with a clatter. He then threw the thug over his shoulder and hard onto the floor, winding him from the impact. Then he stomped on his face, breaking his nose and leaving dirt from his boot all over him to mix in with the blood. He didn't move again after that. The remaining fifteen men put up little resistance, the two vigilantes taking them down with ease as they moved from one man to the next. By the time they'd reduced the number of men down to just five, Batman and Batgirl took a moment to catch their breath with Batgirl wincing and clutching the back of her shoulder, which was still bleeding and stinging from her earlier stab wound. She felt more exhausted than Batman due to the blood loss, but it wasn't significant enough to make her pass out at least. Batman noticed this with concern.

"How bad is it?" he asked.

"Not enough to keep me from finishing the job." Batgirl hissed through gritted teeth, "Don't worry about me and focus on the creeps with the guns!"

Batman nodded and drew out a pair of Batarangs. He saw one man coming at him, hoisting a chair above his head with intent to bludgeon him with it. Batman threw the two weapons at his ankles, slitting them both and causing the man to fall over, the chair slamming down on top of him as he dropped it. The bat-themed crime fighter picked up the chair himself and swung it around into another man, the chair breaking to pieces upon impact and sending the unfortunate man reeling across the room. Shards of wood and splinters littered the floor and the stricken criminal fell onto the floor. Batman grabbed his head and forcefully rubbed it against the broken wood, jamming splinters into the skin of his cheek and smearing blood on the floor. The man howled in pain, but not for much longer as Batman pounded the back of his head with his fist to knock him out. The remaining three Rats tried to surround Batman and take him out but the Dark Knight was too powerful for them. He threw himself backwards against the wall, using the three as a meat cushion to stun them as they were slammed into it. That was enough to shake them loose and the Gotham vigilante quickly followed up by elbowing one in the face and slamming the other two's heads together. The two men who'd had their heads bashed together collapsed in a heap on the floor and the only remaining man was quickly incapacitated by Batgirl, who elbowed him in the back and kicked his legs out from underneath him to bring him down onto the floor with a heavy crash. His eyes closed and he lay still. The entire gang was now dead or unconscious. Batman surveyed the scene, glad that there was nobody left to fight.

"That's all of them." he noted, "Which one's the leader?"

"The skinhead with the tattoos over there." Batgirl explained, pointing to the unconscious Rat King, "Calls himself "Rat King" or something. I think he reads too many comic books."

Batman didn't even smile at the remark as he strode over to Rat King and hauled him up off his feet. He slapped him across the face to wake him up.

"Wake up!" he growled, "I have some questions for you."

Rat King's eyes fluttered open and he stared in horror at the angry, blank, white eyes of Gotham's most famous vigilante. It was like staring into two pools of white fury for him.

"Gah! Sweet merciful shit!" Rat King cried frantically, "It's really you this time! Please tell me I'm still asleep!"

"Unfortunately for you, this isn't a dream." Batman muttered, "You're gonna tell me everything I want to know about the Gotham Rats Gang and who they work for. Otherwise you may end up like so many others I've hurt in the past few weeks."

Rat King had heard about how brutal Batman had been with the criminals of Gotham in recent times, some said to have been beaten so badly that they'd never walk again. But not even that would convince him to talk. He smiled smugly, showing arrogant defiance to the man who had hold of him.

"Nah, it don't work like that, see?" the tattooed man sneered, "In this gang, a rat doesn't rat out his gang. I ain't telling you shit, see! You can cripple me for life for all I care!"

"Poor choice of words." Batman retorted, his voice flat and emotionless, indicating he had no qualms about what he was going to do next.

He then threw Rat King down on to the floor and walked over to the broken chair he'd used to take one of the Rats out earlier. He picked up one of the legs, broken away from the base of the chair, and held it above Rat King. Then he stabbed down into one of his legs with the chair leg, the sharp, splintered wood driving down into his thigh and causing a cascade of blood to seep out of the wound. Rat King let out a scream that could startle every stray cat wondering around the city tonight. Batgirl cringed and looked away, unable to watch. Batman didn't relent, pushing the broken leg further down into Rat King's thigh.

"How much further do I have to push down before you talk?!" Batman snarled viciously, "Tell me, who do the Rats work for and how many of you are there hiding in Gotham?!"

"Ya think shoving broken wood into my leg will make me cave?!" Rat King cried hoarsely, "You're an even bigger dumbass than the kid in the red-and-green pyjamas you hang around with! Speaking of which, where's he tonight? I hear he's dead, is that true?!"

Rat King would quickly come to regret what he'd said for Batman tore the chair leg out of his thigh, causing his wound to bleed profusely. It was recommended that whenever you were stabbed to NEVER remove the thing you've been stabbed with, otherwise you just bleed more than you would if it was still in there. The unfortunate Rats member was bleeding so much that a puddle of blood was forming underneath his legs. Batman then drove the broken chair leg into his other thigh, making him howl in anguish. That would serve him right for that cruel jab at Robin's expense! Jason Todd's death still burned in his memory and he wasn't up for being reminded about it. He twisted the leg, causing more pain to the man he was torturing. Rat King howled again, the pain so great that he was coming close to passing out.

"If you wanna walk again, I suggest you choose your words VERY carefully." Batman spat, "I ask you one last time: WHO. DO. YOU. WORK. FOR?!"

He bellowed each word as if to make sure that he hadn't misunderstood what he was asking. Batgirl had had enough of this. Watching Batman practically cripple him was getting too much and with how much blood he was causing Rat King to lose, he might end up killing him! She ran over to her mentor and hauled him away, seizing him by the shoulders and pulling him back. Batman was so surprised that he didn't even fight back. He fell over onto his back while Batgirl stood defensively in front of Rat King. Batman picked himself up and glared angrily at Batgirl.

"Get out of the way." he ordered.

"No Batman, if I let you do this any longer, you're gonna kill him!" Batgirl retorted, "This exactly why I had to be here, to stop you from going too far!"

She then turned to Rat King.

"Rat face, I want Batman to stop torturing you as much as you do. So please, for OUR sakes, just tell him what he wants and maybe you'll still be able to stand." she demanded, "Tell him, who do you work for?"

Rat King couldn't see any reason not to do what Batgirl had asked. He couldn't take the pain any more, he was in so much agony and losing so much blood. Screw the gang and their credo, all this pain wasn't worth enduring! He used whatever energy he had left to scream a name, a name that Batman hadn't heard of before.

"THE RATCATCHER!" Rat King wailed.

And that was that. With the last of his energy drained, the skinhead passed out, the loss of blood finally taking its toll on him. Batgirl turned away, leaving him to bleed on the floor. She and Batman mulled the name they'd just heard in their heads. The Ratcatcher. Who was he and why on Earth did he call himself that? They supposed it made sense for the man in charge of the Gotham Rats to be called The Ratcatcher. They would find out who he was and hunt him down another night. Batgirl looked up at Batman.

"There, happy?" she snapped.

"We're done here, let's go." Batman said. It was all he needed to say.

With nothing more to do and no reason to stick around, the two vigilantes left. They were gone by the time the first police sirens approached the hideout and several cars drove onto the scene to investigate what had happened here…

* * *

Later on, Batman and Batgirl had found a safe place on top of a building that had a nearby water-tower and a rotating air-conditioning fan that spun around slowly. The two settled down on the building and Batman quickly worked on stitching up Batgirl's shoulder wound. She'd removed her cape so it wouldn't get in the way. Batman worked delicately to avoid hurting her further. In a few minutes, he had sealed the wound and cleaned most of the blood away. Batgirl winced as it still hurt but she was grateful that it wouldn't be bleeding anymore.

"Thanks." she said bluntly.

"You're lucky that that was all you got." Batman said grimly, "You could've had much worse if I hadn't shown up."

"I don't suppose the same applies to you?" Batgirl snapped, "If you'd been in there on your own, I probably would've been the one needing to stitch _you_ up! Your conceited attitude will be the death of you one of these days, I swear…"

"As will your inability to follow orders." the caped crusader muttered, "When I give you an order, I expect it to be obeyed."

"Oh and what, you're suddenly the boss of me and you get to dictate what I do and don't do?" the computer whiz said indignantly.

"Yes, because that's how you don't end up dead!" Batman bellowed, "Jason Todd was prone to defying my orders and look what happened to him!"

"Oh and you think distancing yourself from your friends and allies will suddenly make everything better so you don't have to grieve over anybody again?" Batgirl retorted, "This isn't all about you Bruce! This is about all of us! We all fight for this city together, me, you, Dick and Jason! Protecting Gotham isn't a one-man job and you know it! Do you think you'd still be alive now if you didn't have us in your lives? I know what a risk it is that you could lose your loved ones in the line of duty, don't think I'm ignorant. But as they say, many "hands make light work". If you distance yourself from people who just want to help, you're gonna be brushing away valuable allies who are making your job as Gotham's protector easier and losing valuable friendships."

"It's better if I don't have anyone to worry about." Batman sighed irritably, "That way I don't have to waste time being concerned for your safety. I can just worry about myself and the people around me."

"But what about us? We'll be worried about your safety if you just go out there alone with nobody to back you up!" Batgirl protested, "And also, I think you NEED somebody by your side. Notice how you've been considerably more brutal ever since we lost Jason?"

"Barbara…"

"No Bruce, think about it. When you started off, you just beat a bunch of guys up and that was it, the police did the rest. Maybe some of them ended up in the hospital but still, it's better than what you're doing right now! You not only put people in the hospital, but you leave them half dead! There are some guys you took down that are said to never be able to walk again after what you've done! And look what you did to Rat King! You just about shoved a chair leg through his legs! I doubt he'll ever walk again after that! You can't tell me that you think this kind of thing is OK!"

She grabbed Batman by the shoulders and brought his face closer to hers.

"That was way I disobeyed you tonight, because I knew you would cripple these men for life so I wanted to make sure you didn't get to do so. And I also felt the need to be there so I could reel you in if you went too far. Tell me Bruce, you don't seriously think that you don't need anybody by your side when you start pulling this shit off! Your sidekicks aren't just your sidekicks, they're your conscience and they're there to bring some joy into your life, to stop you from going too far down the dark path. If you keep distancing yourself then you could become the very monster you fight against!"

Batman shoved Batgirl away, but not too roughly so he didn't knock her down. He was beginning to lose his temper and Batgirl could see in his eyes.

"Don't compare me to the scum of this city!" Batman snarled, "I don't kill like they do and despite my more violent tendencies, I still won't ever cross that line. Still, after Jason's death, I realized that I was too lenient. I held back, and that is why my work hasn't accomplished anything. The vermin of Gotham still leap out of the shadows and prey upon whoever they want to, and now they're beginning to feel less afraid of me. I have to be more ruthless and I have to do this alone. If I have ANY chance of making a difference in Gotham, this is the way to do it!"

The red-haired heroine stared incredulously at her mentor, unable to believe he had said that. This didn't sound like the Batman she'd admired and worked with for all this time. It was like he had become a totally different person now. Her eyes narrowed in disgust.

"I don't even know you anymore…" she hissed.

She picked her cape up and reattached it to her shoulders. Then she turned around and stalked off, leaving Batman standing where he was.

"Where are you going?" he asked sternly.

"Why do you care?" Batgirl scoffed, "You're the big, unstoppable, almighty Batman! You don't need anybody by your side! Well you've made that very clear so I'm out. If you wanna get yourself killed with no one beside you, then be my guest! I'm done trying to talk sense into you when it's clear I'm just yelling at a brick wall! And what you do now? This isn't why I became Batgirl. I put on the cowl because I admired what you stood for, what you did for the city and I wanted to be like you, someone who could inspire hope in others and be a protector for those who can't fend for themselves!"

She heaved a heavy sigh before continuing.

"But now? You've officially become as bad as the criminals you fight against." she fumed, her voice strained as if she was trying not to cry, "You've twisted your own symbol into something that I no longer wanna stand for. I'm gonna continue my life as Batgirl…so I can show Gotham what the symbol of the Batman TRULY means!"

And with that, she threw herself off the building and swung away into the night, leaving a stunned Batman to watch her go. He was so shocked at what he'd heard that he didn't even try to say anything in response. He knew it would fall on deaf ears. The Dark Knight turned and headed to the edge of the building so he could return to Wayne Manor. He had a lot to think about. Was he wrong to brush off all his comrades for their safety? Was Batgirl right and he was going too far? Had he truly become as bad as the criminals he fought against? He didn't know, and maybe he was too afraid to find out the answers for now. He would ponder over all this and maybe find a way to convince Batgirl he hadn't gone off the deep end yet. He took out his grappling gun and swung away into the night. Batman could only wonder how Alfred was gonna feel about all this…

* * *

Tonight had been more exhausting than usual for the always busy Commissioner Gordon. The job he had always required him to be on his feet and to always be on the alert for the next big case to look into. Some nights were slow and easy-going (if very few) while nights like this seemed determined to make sure he never slept until morning. His men had had to pick up a very battered and beaten Two-Face earlier tonight and now he'd had to oversee the arrests of the entire Gotham Rats Gang, although it wasn't the entire gang that were being locked away since some of them had been killed by accident when the gang had been blinded by the stun-grenades. Gordon had seen some of the injuries on them, the brutal wounds inflicted on Rat King being the ones to concern him the most. His spectacled eyes were wide with disbelief as he saw the gaping holes in his thighs and the amount of blood he'd lost. Frankly, he would be amazed if he even made it out alive after all that.

"By the gods…Batman, I've never known you to do THIS!" he exclaimed under his breath, "What has gotten into you?"

He of course knew nothing of Jason Todd's death. Batman hadn't spoken to him about that. Seeing the Dark Knight's more ruthless actions did have the old commissioner feeling concerned for his daughter. How was Barbara coping with having to see any of this, if she was with him at the time? Was Batman going to be violent towards her too? He thankfully hadn't come home to hear from Barbara that she'd been assaulted by him in anyway but he did fear that there'd be a time where he'd come home and he'd see her with a bruise on the cheek or something. Maybe she knew why Batman seemed to be more brutal than ever, he'd have to ask her when he got the time.

It was now a few hours after midnight and Commissioner Gordon was on his way home from work. His shift was over and he needed his sleep so he was dismissed for the night. He pulled up outside his house, seeing that the outside light was still on as it should be. It was on a timer and would come on at a set time. Gordon viewed it as a way of knowing if anything wrong was happening at home. If the light was off for any reason, he had every right to be suspicious and approach with caution. It was still on so he had nothing to worry about. He was also glad it was on for it helped him see the keyhole to his front door so he could unlock it. He let himself in and shut the door behind him. He yawned loudly as he took his coat off and hung it up.

"Merciful Minerva, I'll be amazed if I wake up the next day…" he mumbled tiredly.

He climbed upstairs and was about to go into his room to get ready for bed. But as he reached the top of the stairs, he heard something thump behind the door to Barbara's bedroom. That interested him. Was she home early from her duties as Batgirl? She usually came back a lot later than this.

"Barbara?" he asked, heading towards her door.

Gordon stood still and listened for a moment. He could hear heavy breathing and the sound of something being thrown against the wall. Then he heard a loud yell of rage and another thump. This made the commissioner's heart quiver anxiously. What was going on with his precious girl? He opened the door and ran inside. Gordon saw what he had hoped to see, Batgirl back in her room, alive and well. But he saw right away that she was angry. He could see she'd torn the cowl off her head and thrown it against the wall. There was a fist-sized crack in the wall where her bed was positioned, suggesting she'd punched it in fury. Barbara was standing still, her shoulders heaving as she panted. She hadn't even noticed anyone come in. Gordon approached her, his eyes wide with worry.

"Babs? Honey? Whatever's the matter?" he asked.

The red-head turned, surprised yet glad at the same time to see her beloved father there. She was thankful for that, she had wanted to see him more than anyone in the world. Barbara threw her arms around her father, finally releasing all the emotions she had been holding up in the form of tears that streamed down her face. Gordon hugged her back, his hug full of warmth and love for his daughter. He could tell that she needed it.

"Thanks dad." Barbara snivelled, "I really needed that."

"Anything for you sweetheart." Gordon said softly, "Now tell me, whatever's the matter? Did you and Batman…fall out?"

Barbara didn't reply, continuing to sob into her father's shoulder. Gordon kept hugging her, gently allowing her to let out all the emotions in her. He could tell that she was upset about something and reasoned that now wasn't a good time to ask about it. They could talk about this later. For now, he was content to just comfort Barbara and help her cool off after all this.

The commissioner still had a feeling that when Barbara had calmed down and could answer his question, he was in for a big story to listen to, and one he would likely not want to hear…

* * *

 _ **And thus the Birds of Prey's story begins. Batgirl has broken away from Batman to show him what being a Bat REALLY means. We'll leave her aside for now as we look into the team's next member, "Huntress"...**_


	2. Chapter 2: Huntress

_Chapter 2: Huntress_

"Forgive me father, for I have sinned."

Those words were familiar enough to Helena Rosa Bertinelli. She had spoken those words many times before, having come to this place for many a confession to the priest in charge.

"It's been two weeks since my last confession." she admitted.

"I swear, Miss Bertinelli, the amount of times between confessions decrease each time you come to one." the priest remarked, "I may start running out of advice to give you."

Helena managed to crack a small smile at that joke. Helena Bertinelli was a very attractive woman with raven-black hair, sparkling blue eyes and a fair complexion. She was also the kind of woman who had seen things that she'd never forget, giving her a constant firm and cold expression she often had on her face. She was also the sole-surviving member of one of Gotham's original criminal families, the Bertinellis.

The family were an Italian-American family that originated from Sicily and had established a presence in Gotham City during the early twentieth century. Helena was the daughter of Maria Bertinelli and Santo Cassemento, the result of an affair between them. She'd heard stories on how Maria's real husband, Franco Bertinelli, had used to beat her several times before her birth, the beatings only getting worse once he learned she was pregnant with a child that wasn't his. After her birth, she'd spent the first eight years of her life living in a Mafioso household, living in blissful ignorance to its true nature of past criminal dealings being done there. Now an adult, she was no longer a "mafia princess" and didn't even do crime like her family had once done. She long since distanced herself from those days and actually worked as a teacher at an elementary school in Gotham. She was also a devout Catholic, regularly attending church on Sundays. She was here now, sitting in a confessional with the priest to make her latest confession in Gotham's most famous church ever, Gotham Cathedral.

Gotham Cathedral was one of the city's tallest buildings and long rumoured to be the oldest building currently still standing. It had been there in Gotham's original form and was still standing to this day, easily recognized from its tall spire that dwarfed most of the surrounding buildings to the sinister gargoyles that watched over the city from all directions, said to be the eyes of God himself keeping watch over the people of Gotham. Due to how crime-ridden Gotham City was, many people living there found a safe haven in Gotham Cathedral. They could forget about all their troubles and pray to God for any sense of hope and comfort. It was a great relief for the people of the city and one of Gotham's most peaceful places to be. Helena had attended the church for most of her childhood and still liked to come here now. She'd even known the priest growing up too, having come close to him and seeing him as like a second father. She was so close that the two even knew each other's names, although Helena still referred to him as "Father".

The priest, an old, balding man with dazzling green eyes named George Newton, had worked at Gotham Cathedral for almost forty years. Now seventy years old, he showed no signs of stopping any time soon. Known to the church attendees as Father Newton, he had become one of Gotham's most beloved citizens with his friendly, warm and loving nature making him pleasant to be around for all who came to the cathedral. He was the sort of man who couldn't get angry no matter how many times people tried to wind him up and he gave off the impression that he wouldn't hurt a fly. He had been a devout Catholic himself and liked to see himself as one of God's servants, put on this Earth to spread love and kindness to the people. He saw goodness in everyone and never judged whoever came to his church, seeing people of all race, colour, gender and sexuality as equal. Father Newton always enjoyed seeing Helena attend the church and was interested, as well as concerned, to hear what sins she had to confess this time around. The poor girl seemed to commit a lot of them for she'd come here to this confessional quite a lot in recent years. Was the devil's influence taking hold of her?

"So, what are you confessing to have done this time, Helena?" Father Newton asked softly.

His voice was always quiet, gentle and measured. The priest always spoke this way as he felt it put his people in a good frame of mind and reassured them that they were safe and in the presence of someone who wouldn't judge them.

"Same thing as last time I came here, Father." Helena replied. Whenever she spoke, she had a faint Italian accent to her words. She sat up straight with no attempts to make herself comfortable and kept her hands firmly on her thighs. She continued.

"I've done…things that you and the lord himself might consider undesirable." the Italian-American woman admitted, "Things that might have me condemned to the depths of Hell forever."

"What kind of things have you done?" Father Newton asked. He already knew the answer but felt it polite to ask anyway.

"Committed what could be the biggest sin of all." Helena replied, raising a hand to her chest to play about with the cross necklace she wore around her neck, "I've killed Father…killed many, many people. And worst of all…I seem to relish it. I confess all of this to you now for I fear that I may be consumed by my inner demons. Maybe I'm becoming one with what I do."

Her expression was neutral, suggesting that she didn't actually mean what she'd said and had no fear whatsoever. Of course, Father Newton couldn't see this as there was a wall between them in the confessional. The old man took in what Helena had said and nodded slowly.

"Yes…quite common for those to fear what they're becoming." he agreed, "So what kind of people have you killed? And why?"

Helena closed her eyes for a minute, clutching the cross around her neck. As she thought of her answer, she found herself back there, hiding in that closet, only eight years old at the time and watching her family die. Gunshots fired, blood flying everywhere, bodies hitting the ground…how she would never forget that horrifying image! And it was all to do with the answer she was about to give.

"I kill the criminal scum that infect this city." Helena said, a slight edge to her voice, "They nearly made me one of them, they took away my family, trained me to be a killer…they're a disease that plagues the city and I feel it's my duty to wipe them out. I do it because I feel it's the right thing to do, so that this city can be free from their corruption and never fear what they will do to them! I believe that maybe this is all what God wants to me do, as ludicrous as it may seem that our wise and loving creator would want me to do something so evil. Maybe that was why I was spared that day, God's gift to me so that I could deliver penance to those who commit the most unforgiveable sins."

She shut her eyes again and sighed, wondering if what she'd said had been the right thing to say.

"Would you consider it sinful to only kill those who have sinned themselves, Father?" the raven-haired woman asked.

Father Newton had to admit that Helena had given him an interesting confession. It was the kind of thing that had no real easy answer to it. Was it right or was it still wrong to kill bad people? He carefully thought over Helena's words before he gave his answer.

"As you know my child, our lord works in mysterious ways." Newton explained, "Maybe he did spare you that day so you could deliver penance to those who have sinned. Maybe it is all his plan, whatever it maybe, and there's a reason behind everything you're going through. But I must ask, do you only kill bad people Helena?"

"Yes. Only criminals and whatever empires they're a part of are felled by my own hands."

"Do you enjoy it?"

"A part of me revels in it…but my actions aren't out of sadism or pleasure entirely. I do it for I feel that is the way to deal with the scum of this Earth, and I do it for the people who would otherwise suffer at their hands."

"And do you have anything that God would consider noble to balance it all out?"

"I'm a teacher at Gotham Elementary. I love it there for I love children and I feel privileged to pass on whatever knowledge I have to the young minds of Gotham that are hungry for that knowledge. It was a childhood dream of mine and I feel blessed to have gotten it." Helena replied, a soft smile on her face as she thought of the many students she'd befriended since starting work there.

"Then I see no reason for the lord to condemn you for your actions." Father Newton said brightly, "I do not condone murder in anyway but God has a way of delivering untold punishment to those who are bad. If it is his will, then we are powerless to defy it. But I also warn you Helena, if you continue down this path, if you begin to relish your murderous ways and find pleasure in the murder of others, you could well condemn yourself forever. You could even become a servant of Satan himself. I would hate for our lord to have to deliver penance on you too. Maybe you could find a better way to deal with the demons of the world instead of slaughtering them. I see hope for you yet Helena, I firmly believe you're still on the path of righteousness. But what I fear is if you're veering too close away from it. My advice is to see into yourself and maybe find another way around what you do."

The Catholic woman had a feeling she would hear those kinds of words and wasn't surprised at what Father Newton had told her. Deep inside, a part of her had wondered if God even wanted her to be a killer at all. God clearly had something in mind for her, but what? She sighed a little, slowly exhaling through her mouth. Helena thought back to something that she had been waiting for all day, something that was going to happen tonight. It was too early to grow a conscience and go easy on these criminals when there was something she had to deal with.

"Maybe my redemption will come soon Father, but not tonight." Helena admitted, "I didn't ask for forgiveness for what I've done…but what I'm about to do again."

"And what are you going to do again?" Father Newton asked.

* * *

Night came again, dark and without a star or even the moon visible in the pitch, black skies above. It was one of those nights that seemed to be even darker than usual. This was fine for some for more darkness means more secrecy and less chance of being spotted.

There was a group of men overseeing a delivery that was just coming from a ship that had arrived into the docks a few minutes ago. It was a cargo ship, a towering beast of steel and metal that dwarfed every other boat in the yard. It was carrying huge steel-crates that had goodness knows what inside. With the size of them, anything could be inside. These men knew that it was nothing legal for these deliveries weren't anything legal whatsoever. The ship shouldn't even be here but due to a manipulation of events from the men overseeing the delivery, they'd managed to weasel their way in and now there they were, about to receive several steel crates containing tonnes of illegal drugs. There were crates containing cocaine, heroin and marijuana. All of these were banned by the authorities, and the men collecting them were going to make a killing off of them. They could only imagine how much money this stuff was going to be worth. They might even make millions with all these drugs to deal out!

They were keen to get this over with so they were working quickly, the nearby crane already unloading the first crate full of drugs off of the boat and onto the tarmac loading bay. The last thing the criminals here wanted as any pig in a police uniform coming after them before they were finished. They were confident nobody knew about this and nobody could squeal on them but they still had to be quick. In this city, you could never be too careful, especially with Batman and his protégés on duty. As soon as the first crate was lowered, the lock was cut to pieces with bolt cutters and the doors were flung open, revealing the illegal contents inside.

"There's the first lot, get them into the trucks and move quickly!" barked one of the men.

Several of his goons moved in to unload the shipping crate and carry the drugs to the fleet of lorries that were waiting on standby to take them to their hideout. Their boss had demanded that they be done in a certain amount of time and there'd be a severe pay cut if they were late. The men carried out all the boxes, one at a time, to the waiting lorries. They were huge and had large, square trailers to carry the goods in. There was room for plenty of the drugs to be stored in. In a matter of minutes, the first shipping crate was emptied and all the drugs had been put in the trucks. Now the men all gathered around as another crate was unloaded from the ship. They watched it slowly swing around, the crane whirring as it moved, and the crate was lowered slowly to the ground.

"How many more after dis one den?" asked one of the men, a scrawny, skinny man who looked like he did a lot of running.

"Just one more then we're done here." another said, this one the man in charge, "Tell the drivers that once every truck is fully loaded, they can go."

The skinny man obeyed, jogging off towards the convoy of trucks waiting to drive off. As he left, the man in charge smiled with glee as the crate was fully lowered onto the tarmac.

"Mandragora will give us all a raise for this." he purred to himself, "All them drugs ripe for the picking to dish out to any dumbass who wants them."

He approached the crate with the bolt cutters to chew the padlock open with so they could get the crate open and the goods unloaded. While this was happening, the skinny man had reached the fleet of trucks and rapped one the door to one of them.

"Hey, you in dere, da boss says that once da trucks are all fully loaded, ya can take dem outta here!"

He received no response. He banged on the door again.

"Hey, ya deaf or somethin' I said once da trucks are fully loaded, ya can take dem outta here!" the skinny many bellowed.

Once again, he received no response. Sighing, he grabbed the door handle and flung it open.

"What's da matter, yer ears not workin' or…"

The runner's words quickly died in his throat as he saw with horror the answer to his question. The driver hadn't been ignoring him…for he wasn't even alive. He was lying against his seat, an arrow in his neck and a hole in the windscreen in front of him, shards of glass scattered all over the dashboard. His chest was drenched in blood, all seeping down from his neck where the arrow had hit him. The skinny man stumbled back, his face as white as a sheet. He ran over to another truck to warn them that one of the drivers was dead. But he quickly saw that the second truck's driver as dead too, an arrow in his neck just like the first. He looked over at the remaining trucks, seeing they all had holes in their windscreens, suggesting that every single driver had suffered the same fate. Who could've done this and why?! He was about to run off to warn his boss, but he never took more than two steps. The last thing he heard in his life was a whooshing sound. Then…nothing more. He collapsed dead on the ground, an arrow sticking out of his back. The shooter emerged from behind, looking down at him to see if he was dead. Seeing he wasn't moving, it moved on away from the convoy to take out the men unloading the crates.

None of the men carrying out the boxes of drugs were aware that there was somebody targeting them as they unloaded them from the crate to take to the trucks. Many of them never did find out for the mystery attacker crept up on any men approaching the trucks and shot them dead with arrows before they could put any of the drugs away. It noticed that all the remaining men were at the crates. That was good, they were all together and open targets for its arrows. The shooter was a raven-haired woman dressed in a cloak and costume that concealed her identity. She carried a crossbow, the hi-tech kind that could fire arrows much faster than a normal crossbow. It could also rapid fire, able to shoot more than one arrow at a time, as well as store more than one arrow at a time. The woman's cloak contained plenty of spare ammo so she wouldn't have to worry about running out. She moved quickly and quietly towards the rest of the men. Nobody noticed her so far. They were too busy unloading the crate to notice anything. However, one of the men carried a box of cocaine to the trucks and noticed the dead men that should've been loading their boxes into them. He gasped in horror, nearly dropping his load.

"Hey, what the hell?!" he exclaimed in shock, "Kyle, someone's been shooting our men!"

Kyle was the man leading the operation. He turned around, surprised at what he was hearing. Somebody was shooting his men? That was impossible! He hadn't heard any gunshots! Who could be shooting at them and somehow not be noticed? Even guns with silencers still made a bit of noise!

"You're joking right?" Kyle asked nervously.

"Nope, they're really dead!" cried the man who had spotted them, "Not from bullets though…but from arrows!"

"Fuckin' hell, you think Green Arrow's preying on us?" Kyle exclaimed.

"Nah, these arrows ain't green Kyle." the man pointed out, "And I think Green Arrow doesn't kill anyway."

Before he could speculate anymore, an arrow shot out from nowhere and embedded itself straight through the unfortunate victim's head. He collapsed onto the floor, the tip and end of the arrow still sticking out of his head. Kyle gasped and quickly darted towards the crate. His men were under attack and he wasn't going to let this murderer get him! He ran inside the crate, intending to hide inside so he couldn't get shot, while also calling out to his men.

"Everybody, drop the drugs! There's some maniac out there shooting arrows! Get your weapons out and kill the bastard!" Kyle screamed frantically.

All his men obeyed, drawing out guns that had been concealed in their jackets the whole time. It sounded strange to them that they were up against somebody armed with arrows but they weren't going to stand idly by and let these attacks continue. Kyle had a gun of his own but he wasn't about to go out there and start shooting at whoever was killing his people. He was a dirty coward and was always happy to sacrifice his goons to anyone if it meant saving his own skin. He stayed in the crate, closing the doors to make himself feel safer. His men roamed around the docks, looking for any sign of their attacker. Their guns were pointed ahead, ready to shoot the moment they saw anything move. One of the men was stricken down by an arrow to the head, collapsing onto his side and dropping his gun. His comrades saw this and began wildly shooting despite not having a clear vision of their target, bullets spraying everywhere randomly and ricocheting off the tarmac. It was a foolish mistake for they ended up wasting a bunch of bullets and had to spare a few precious seconds they couldn't lose to reload. That gave the shooter time to take them out before they could fire their guns again. The costumed woman aimed with her crossbow and fired three shots at once, taking down three men instantly with an arrow to the chest each. Unfortunately for her, the remaining men could now see her so as they reloaded their guns, they now had a target to shoot at. She was standing atop a nearby crate, looking down at them all with serious eyes through the scope of her crossbow.

Now she'd been spotted, the crossbow-wielder decided to change tactics. She leapt aside as more bullets came hurling towards her, jumping off the crate she was on and throwing something towards the men. She'd swiped a bag of cocaine out of one of the boxes earlier, feeling it would come in handy. The bag was obliterated as the men shot at it, causing the powdery-substance to fly out into the air from the bag and cloud their vision. It looked as if it had randomly decided to start snowing over them, only the snow was cocaine powder instead of frozen water. The gunmen couldn't see their target for the moment and what made things worse for them was the fact the wind had changed direction, blowing the powder into them so it started filling their eyes and mouths. Blinded and hardly able to breathe, the men coughed and spluttered while trying to get the powder out of their eyes. They were completely helpless as the costumed woman took them all out with more arrows to the head or chest. In a matter of minutes, all of Kyle's men were dead on the ground, blood seeping from their arrow wounds and staining the tarmac.

Kyle had heard all the gunshots from inside the crate he was hiding in and fell nervous once he'd heard them silence. What was going on out there? He kept close hold of his gun, his knees knocking as he braced himself. Would the killer think to look for him in here? He quickly got his answer for the doors flung open and the archer-girl stormed inside. Kyle could see that she was no vigilante he'd ever seen before. This was no Batman or Green Arrow, nor was it even Batgirl. The woman was dressed in a grey costume with purple gloves and purple boots with a black cape with white trimming draped over her shoulders. Her face was concealed by a purple mask that curved up in two points and she had a utility belt around her waist, the buckle marked with the single letter of "H". She also wore a Catholic cross that held her cape together, the golden religious symbol sitting on her chest. Her blue eyes were devoid of any mercy. Kyle could see she had a killer streak to him and would shoot him dead before he could ask anything. He quickly raised his gun and shot at her. The costumed woman was expecting that move so she dodged and fired a shot from her crossbow, the arrow burying itself into his shoulder and causing him to drop the gun. Pain had numbed his arm and hand so he couldn't hold it anymore. Kyle howled in anguish, clutching his wounded shoulder. His sleeve was quickly drenched in blood and it trailed down his arm. The woman put her crossbow away on her belt and stormed up to the man, her face a mask of fury. She grabbed Kyle by the jacket and jammed her face into her own.

"You nearly shot me. How rude." she snorted.

"You little bitch! Ugh, ya think you can just waltz in here and steal our goods?!" Kyle cried, his voice strained and hoarse, "I dunno who you are, Maid Marian, but when the boss finds out what happened here, he'll rip you to pieces!"

"The name's Huntress, actually, and I hope he does find out." the woman scoffed, "I'm **dying** to meet him. Who is your boss by the way? Is it Mandragora?"

"Like I'll tell you shit!" Kyle sneered, "You may as well kill me for all I care!"

"You're unlucky; all your other men are dead so I need you alive so I can get some information." Huntress said, her voice full of mock pity, "What makes it even worse is that your men all died quickly and painlessly whereas you will get to suffer whatever hell I'm about to put you through. I already shot you in the shoulder, do you want me to shoot you somewhere even MORE painful?"

Her eyes darted down to his groin, an impish smile crossing her lips.

"I can't imagine you'll enjoy a shot to your manhood." she purred darkly.

"You wouldn't dare!" Kyle whimpered.

"TRY me." Huntress dared, "You know I'm willing to kill so what makes you think I'm adverse to torture?"

That did it. Kyle wasn't willing to keep his secrets anymore, not when he could receive an arrow to the most painful part of the body he could receive one to. Wanting to spare himself unimaginable pain, Kyle cracked and the secrets he contained quickly spilled out of his mouth.

"I give, I give! I'll tell you! Yes, We're working for Mandragora! He's running a drug operation and he wants us to deliver all these drugs to him!"

"Where are the drugs being taken to?" Huntress demanded.

"One of his drug stashes!" the man screamed pathetically, "It's a building in Gotham's Industrial District!"

"Is Mandragora there?"

"No! He's very cautious! He never shows up in the person unless necessary! You'll never catch him!"

"Then at the very least, I can shut down his operations for tonight. Do you know the way to that building?"

"Yes! I'll drive you there if ya want! But don't think you'll make it out alive! You're gonna be dead the moment you walk in there!" Kyle declared confidently.

"Don't feel so sure of yourself." Huntress muttered, "You'll take me to that building and if you dare steer me wrong, I'll kill you."

"How do I know you won't just kill me when we get there?!" Kyle squeaked feebly.

"You're helping me score a hit against Mandragora, that's enough reason for me to spare you." the costumed woman answered, "Now get a move on, my trigger finger's feeling rather itchy."

Kyle nodded compliantly. Huntress put him down and allowed him to lead her out of the crate and to one of the trucks so he could drive her to her destination. Kyle yanked the dead driver out of the truck and climbed into the driver's seat with Huntress sitting beside him. Her crossbow was in her hands and pointing at him, making the point very clear: drive and if you stop, I'll shoot. The poor man didn't dare refuse, starting up the truck and driving off towards Gotham's Industrial District. Huntress sat still, her eyes fixed on Kyle so he didn't try anything stupid like wrestle the crossbow out of her hands. She was looking forward to this. A slight against Stefan Mandragora would be worth just as much as getting to kill the man himself! It would serve him right for taking away her family like this and leaving her alone for most of her life! She had never forgotten that fateful day where he'd flipped her world upside down and changed her forever...

* * *

 _The Bertinelli household, several years ago…_

 _An Italian dinner was never something to be missed. Over at the Mafioso household that the Bertinelli family called home, Helena was seated at the dinner table with her mother, Maria, her legal father, Franco, and her half-brother Pino. In this home, dinner time was family time and the Bertinellis enjoyed having this time together, dining in luxury while getting to bond over the dinner table. Although in a criminal family like this, there was nothing much to bond over, especially as this family contained an abusive husband and father like Franco. Helena was sat at the end of the table closer to her mother and brother, as far away from her father as she could sit. Maria noticed that her precious daughter was still rubbing at her cheek, which seemed to be bruised pretty badly. The underneath of one of her eyes had turned a shade of mauve and she couldn't seem to be able to open it fully. The Sicilian woman had feared that Helena would endure some of her father's abuse. After all, she wasn't his child, but the result of an affair with a man from a rival gang. Franco had every reason to beat her as much as he did to Maria herself. She still held out hope that one day, he'd ease his abuse and come to love her as his own, even if she wasn't his._

 _Franco Bertinelli, a lean, tall man with slick black hair and a moustache, wasn't just the husband of Maria and father of Pino and Helena. He was the head of the Five Sicilian Families in Gotham City, known to everyone by his title of capo di tutti capi. The title was Italian for "boss of all bosses", making him the most powerful man in the Mafia, even if he answered to the don, Stefano Mandragora. Very few ever dared to cross his path and he relished in his position, abusing his power any way he could and making his position as capo di tutti capi very apparent to anyone in the Five Families. It was why nobody would ever dare to stand up to him or challenge his authority. And yet all this power wouldn't be enough to save him from what was about to happen._

 _The plates were all brought to the table, containing a simple starter of Caesar salad with croutons and dressing and served with slices of serrano ham. The main course, organic pasta served in pesto sauce with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, would come after. As the starters were settled down, the family all bowed their heads and clasped their hands together in prayer. Franco recited the prayer completely in Italian, concluding with the word "Amen" with the rest of the family repeating that word. Now they'd given their thanks to the lord, they picked up their forks and began to eat._

 _Hardly a mouthful was consumed between all the family before a door suddenly flung open and somebody stormed inside. The Bertinellis all looked up in disbelief, wondering who could possibly be coming over at this time and why. Franco had a look of anger on his face, disgusted that somebody dared to interrupt a family moment like this. He rose from his seat and saw a masked man striding towards him. He was covered from head to toe, dressed in a large coat that concealed much of his body, gloves and a mask that only had holes cut in for the eyes. There was no chance of him being recognized by anybody. The man was huge, much larger than even Franco himself and had shoulders so thick that he could probably carry a car on them. Franco's eyes narrowed and he burst into an angry torrent of Italian, demanding who he was and why he'd come here. The man only identified himself as "_ _Omertà_ _"._ _Omertà is a Southern Italian code of honour, the code placing importance on silence in the face of the authorities. It meant if anyone questioned them, they would remain in silent defiance, refusing to say anything to them. It made a fitting name for this stranger for he'd remain silent if anybody questioned him about what he was about to do._

 _Omertà reached into his jacket and took out a gun. It was a small pistol that had a silencer attached to it. It was clear to Franco that this man didn't want to attract too much attention with his kill. Nobody would hear the gunshots, even if they were living close by to this place. Franco stared at the gun in horror, unable to believe this was actually happening. Maria, Helena and Pino remained fixed to their seats, too afraid to move in fear of the gun being turned on them._

 _"Why?!" Franco blurted. It was all he could say._

 _"Mandragora's orders." Omertà replied, his voice as deep as a tremor, "Nothing personal. He just wants no vendetta amongst him or the families."_

 _He squeezed the trigger and the gun coughed out a single bullet, barely making any noise thanks to the silencer. He had wanted his kill to be quick and effortless so he'd aimed for the head on Franco. The capo di tutti capi was thrown back onto the table, landing back-first onto his plate of food and sliding off of it onto the floor. He dragged some of the table cloth with him and pulled several plates and cutlery down onto the floor with a clatter and a smash. Blood seeped out of the bullet wound in his head. His eyes were still open, staring lifelessly up at the ceiling as if trying to admire it one last time. There was a scream of terror from Maria, putting her hands to her mouth in horror as she saw her husband fall. Omertà turned the gun on Pino, shooting the poor boy dead before he could register that he was being targeted. He collapsed over in his seat, lying face-up on the floor with blood trickling down his face. He had only been a teenager, now he would never become a man like his father before him. Helena was taking all of this in with wide eyes of terror, unable to believe what was happening. This had to be a nightmare, this couldn't be real, none of it! Omertà then turned the gun on Maria, the terrified woman raising her hands and begging to him in Italian. Helena stared, her heart pounding as she watched her mother become the next target for this mystery man. Omertà ignored her pleas, aiming straight for the head like he did with the other two._

 _"Spare the sister…" he muttered to himself._

 _That was what Cassamento had said to him. But unfortunately for Maria, he had gotten confused by what Cassamento had meant. To avoid angering Maria's brother, Tomasso Panessa, he wanted her spared. But Omertà thought Helena was the sister, thinking of her being the sister of Pino Bertinelli and thus, what Cassamento had meant by "Spare the sister". And so, he made his mistake by shooting Maria Bertinelli dead. Blood sprayed from her forehead, some of it splattering over her daughter's face, making her flinch in disgust. Helena watched in petrified horror as her mother's body collapsed onto the table, blood staining the table cloth and seeping over onto her unfinished plate of food. The eight year old stared at her, tears streaming down her bruised face as it settled in what had just happened. Everything had become a blur to her upon seeing the man shoot her legal father dead and only now was she coming to grips with what she'd witnessed. She babbled frantically in Italian, wailing for her mother as she lay dead on the table with blood still seeping from her head. Omertà looked at her with pitiless eyes before putting the gun away and turning on his heels._

 _"You got lucky you little shit." he muttered to himself, "The boss didn't want you dead as well."_

 _Helena didn't hear him. She didn't even notice him walk away as she threw her arms around Maria's body, crying into her hair and wailing in anguish. She was left alone in the dining hall, nobody around to hear her cry and mourn for her family. Blood, tears, death and despair, that's all it was for Helena this very night. She had a feeling that she would never stop crying, no matter how long this night would go on for…_

* * *

 _Gotham's Industrial District, Mandragora's drug stash, now…_

Mandragora's drug stash was one of the most secret facilities in Gotham. Even Batman himself had yet to uncover this place. It was a rundown, grimy, dingy, poorly-lit building that hadn't seen use in a while and looked as if it were more fitting a home for rats than actual people. The building consisted of several hallways and small rooms that had little to offer. It was hardly a living space, but it wasn't meant to be. It had enough amenities, namely fridges and microwaves to prepare food and drinks along with toilets to use, so that people could hang around in this murky building until it was time to receive or send out drugs. It had no address so it would be impossible to find on a map and only the people who came here knew where it was. This in turn was why Mandragora had been so successful at running his operations; this facility had no way of being located by the authorities so they weren't ever to find it…until tonight…

A stocky man with a thick beard walked down the dimly lit hallway to the single door at the end. He knocked on it and waited for the man who was on the other side to come over and answer him. The door opened up and another man, this one taller and more top-heavy than the first, stepped out.

"Yeah?" he asked, his voice like sandpaper.

"The boss wants to know if you've finished counting all our money in there." the bearded man said.

"Good timing, I just finished it." the larger man said, "We got over twenty million stock piled in there from all our drug sales!"

"Twenty mil?!" the bearded man exclaimed, "Holy shit, THAT much?! Heh, imagine how much more we'll make when tonight's delivery gets here! We'll probably make double that amount!"

"I hope the boss plans on giving us all a fair share of that dough and doesn't keep it all himself." the other man muttered, "I like to feel like my services are well paid."

"Maybe we can persuade him." the bearded man suggested, "How about you take a break and I'll go in there and wait for the delivery to arrive?"

"Thanks. I could do with a drink after all that counting. Damn worked up a thirst it did!" the top-heavy man said.

He headed off to another room while the bearded man went inside to await the arriving drugs that were expected to arrive tonight. As the stocky man went into the room, he saw a bunch of his friends sitting around a circular table, playing cards and taking swigs from ice-cold beer fresh out the miniature fridge they had. They welcomed him in and offered him a seat and an unopened bottle of beer. He opened it and gulped down a few swallows greedily. One of the card players watched him with amusement.

"One would think ya haven't had a drink in a week!" he remarked.

"Damn well feels like it!" the top-heavy man agreed, "Nothing like ice-cold beer to quench your thirst."

"You guys start the next game of cards, I'm off for a piss." said another card player.

He was bald and had a weaselly looking face. He had been playing badly at the card game and it showed in his eyes. He got up from his chair and walked out of the room to leave the others to play their game. He strode down the hallway, the horrid stench prickling at his nostrils. Would it kill Mandragora to have this place cleaned every once in a while?! The smell was making him feel ill! He turned a corner and headed off to the toilets to relieve himself. He never reached his destination for a single arrow shot out from the end of a corridor and embedded itself into the back of his head. The man collapsed dead on the floor from the shot. The one who had fired it, Huntress, walked quietly down the hall to where the dead man lay. Then she turned and headed around the corner towards the three rooms that were up ahead. Upon arriving here, she'd already planned on what to do. Here in this hallway, it was more cramped and less spacious so she had less places to hide and not much room to move. So she would try her best to take out these men as quickly as possible, as well as use this place to her advantage in any way.

Huntress approached one of the doors and listened carefully, her crossbow still in hand. She could hear voices, suggesting there was possibly five or six men in there. That was fine enough, she could take them out easily. Steeling her nerves and exhaling slowly, Huntress brought herself into a relative moment of clam, the perfect moment of peace and steadiness to prepare herself for action. She could hear her own heart pounding with anticipation. A few seconds passed before she seized the door handle and swung it open. The men inside were so taken aback by what they were seeing that they were delayed in reacting to this intruder. Three of them were shot dead by Huntress's crossbow before they could protect themselves. One man was able to draw out his gun and begin firing at her, forcing Huntress to weave around the room to avoid being shot. She tried to shoot him but another man tackled her from behind, forcing her to drop the crossbow. The masked woman spun around and socked him in the face, disorienting him enough so she could swing him around in the gunman's path, using him as a meat shield as his buddy opened fire on him, killing him instantly.

The top-heavy man who had just joined the card game heard the commotion in the other room and came out into the hallway to see what was going on. He yelled out in amazement as the door was torn clean off its hinges and a man lay sprawled on the floor after having crashed into it and knocked it down. The door had buckled, split almost in two at the middle so it lay with one half on the floor and the other leaning forlornly against the wall. The top-heavy man looked into the other room to see what was happening. The last thing he saw was a microwave hurling straight towards him at the speed of a flying bullet. He didn't even see who had thrown it at him, nor did he feel it collide with his head as it knocked him out instantly upon impact. He crumpled and lay still on the floor next to the one who had knocked the door down. The other card-players filed out of the room having heard the microwave hit the top-heavy man and the bearded man who had gone into the end room to wait for the drug deliveries burst in on the scene, wondering what the hell was happening.

Huntress emerged from the other room, blood running down the side of her mouth and blood on her knuckles and face. She didn't look as if she'd even been hurt by the men she'd just taken out in that room. One of the card players pounced on her instantly, trying to grab hold of her neck but Huntress grabbed him first and throttled him while punching his face repeatedly. Another man tried to help by drawing out a knife. He stabbed down at Huntress but she wheeled around with the man she was strangling and held him in his way, causing the other man to stab him in the back. She shoved the stabbed man into him, knocking him off his feet. Another card player slipped on a pair of knuckle dusters and punched Huntress in the face, drawing blood from her and sending her reeling. Then one of the other card players grabbed her by the hair and yanked her towards him, kneeing her several times in the stomach. Little did they realize was that Huntress had protective armour under her costume so she was able to take the blows well enough so that their attempts to hurt her would be meaningless. The car player could feel it on his knee, surprised that his attempts to bring her down seemed to be hurting him more than her. Huntress grabbed him by the head and slammed it down onto her own knee, knocking him out instantly. The man with the knuckle-dusters lumbered towards her and punched her again, sending her careening into the wall. Then he and another man pinned her to the wall and tried punching her in the head as hard as they could but Huntress just refused to go down. She placed both hands against the wall and pushed away, sending herself and the other men stumbling backwards into the other wall.

They let her go and she quickly took them out by elbowing one in the neck and head-butting the other. The two men crumbled to the floor and lay still. Huntress leaned against the wall, panting as she tried to catch her breath. This fight was beginning to wear her down, she'd have to finish it and fast before they took advantage. The man with the knife had picked himself up, throwing the man he'd accidentally killed off of him and slashed at Huntress, managing to nick her across the back of her shoulders as she was still catching her breath. For ease of movement, Huntress didn't have protective armour around her shoulders so the knife slash cut a line in her cape and costume, drawing blood as it cut through. Huntress winced but didn't let it bother her as she drew out her crossbow and pistol-whipped him with it. As soon as he was brought down, she shot him dead with an arrow to the neck. Two men crept up on Huntress and grabbed her by the cape, hauling her back and causing her to drop the crossbow. The vigilante cried out and grunted as she was hurled into the door at the end of the hall with a clang sound ringing out as she hit it. She was momentarily disoriented from the impact and was helpless to defend herself as the two men who'd grabbed her cape started pummelling her. Refusing to give up, Huntress roared angrily as she spun around and backhanded one of the men across the face, throwing him to one side. Then she drew out an unused arrow from her cape and stabbed the other man through the neck with it, killing him in an instant. She threw him on the floor and kicked the man she'd back-handed in the face. He tried to fight back but the kick had knocked his senses out of whack so he couldn't aim his punch properly and missed. Huntress then grabbed hold of him and swiftly twisted his head to one side, snapping his neck. The sound tore right through her and made her shudder briefly but she shook it off as the dead man fell to the floor. She panted again, feeling the weight of this fight beginning to bear down on her.

The bearded man charged into the intruder, aiming his shoulder at her as he rammed into her like an angry bull. He slammed her against the wall, winding Huntress for the moment and wrapped an arm around her head, squeezing tight and refusing to let go. Huntress struggled, using all her strength to fight back against her opponent. Another man came at her and tried to attack her but she kicked him away and sent him crashing into the wall. He fell onto the floor but didn't stay down long as Huntress and the bearded man ended up staggering into the room where the card game had been set up. He ran in after them, only to be kicked down again as Huntress, who was lying on the floor with the bearded man after they'd fallen over, swung her foot into his ankles. He hit the floor hard, breaking some of his teeth upon impact. Huntress stood up and just as the bearded man was about to, she grabbed his head and slammed it hard against the table, knocking him out cold. He collapsed onto his side, blood running down the side of his face where he'd hit the table. One more man, the one that she'd thrown into the door earlier, ran into the room and threw himself at her, tackling her down onto the floor and grabbing at her wherever her could, snarling viciously. He'd come to and wanted revenge, slamming Huntress's head against the floor as best as he could. His attack left a nasty mark on her face and left splodges of her blood on the floor. Huntress shook him off and got to her feet, throwing herself over the table towards the mini fridge full of beers. She opened the door and threw a bottle at the goon that had tackled her. The bottle hit him, shards of glass slicing his skin and soaking him with beer. He cried out in anguish and then the raven-haired woman silenced him with one last arrow from her crossbow, hitting him squarely in the chest and bringing him down. He lay still, his face soaked with blood and beer. It seemed as if that was the last of them. Huntress stayed still for a minute, waiting for any more men to come at her.

None came so she stumbled out of the room, panting heavily and putting a hand over her chest. She felt exhausted having fought all those men. She also wondered how she'd explain her injuries tonight to her friends at Gotham Elementary and the students she would be teaching. At least tomorrow was Sunday so it wouldn't be a school day for her, giving Huntress a whole day off to recover so her injuries wouldn't look as bad when she came in on Monday. Once Huntress had caught her breath, she made the cross sign by drawing a line down her face and touching each shoulder with her fingertips, quietly asking for God to forgive her for this massacre. Then she staggered over to the door at the end of the hall and opened it. She could see that this was the storage room where all the drugs and money was kept. There was a large door at the end of the room, suggesting that this was where the trucks delivering the drugs she'd seen being unloaded at the docks would have arrived. Smiling grimly, Huntress reached into her belt and took out a box of matches she had with her.

"Your operations tonight Mandragora…all up in smoke." she sneered.

She struck one match and threw it onto the pile of drugs. The money was kept away from them so none of the banknotes would burn too. Huntress would be sure to let the GCPD know about it so they could put it to better use and leave Mandragora empty-handed. The boxes of drugs were quickly eaten up by the flames as they spread and consumed everything they touched. The smell that rose from the burning stash was strong and revolting. It made Huntress feel pleased. Not only did her family's killer have nothing to exploit the poor people of Gotham with, these drugs wouldn't ruin anybody's lives again. She was just about to leave until she heard something. It was a noise that took her by surprise. It sounded like…someone calling for help.

"Hello? Why can I smell smoke? What's happening? Please let us out!"

Huntress turned to see that there was a door in the wall nearby. It made her feel sick as she approached it. Mandragora was keeping people captive in here too?! Was there no low he wouldn't sink to? How long had these people been locked up in here? What made it worse was that the voice she'd heard had been a child's voice. What could Mandragora want with children? The Catholic heroine didn't want to know, the answer would likely make her feel sicker. She approached the door and tugged on it. It wouldn't budge. That wasn't a problem. She simply aimed her crossbow at the lock and shot it, breaking it apart and rendering the door unlocked. Before she opened it and went inside, she took off her mask. At the very least, she could show these children that she was a person and not some freak in a mask. She opened the door. There, sitting huddled in the corner, were two children, a boy and a girl. Their eyes were wide with fright and they looked grubby and dirty, suggesting they'd been locked up for a while. They stared at Huntress fearfully, but the raven-haired woman just gave them a soft smile to try and comfort them.

"It's OK children. I know you're scared, you've been locked up in here for quite a while." she said tenderly, "But you don't have to be scared anymore. I'm taking you out of here and back to your parents. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes." the boy whimpered.

"Come on kids, let's go then. We don't want to stay here too much longer." Huntress offered.

She walked out of the room with both kids hanging onto her as she carried them. They were relieved to be out of that room and would be reunited with their parents at last. They took note of the burning drug stashes but didn't say anything. They didn't care what it was or why it was on fire, they just cared about leaving this place. Huntress walked them quickly through the hallway as she re-entered, not wanting them to see too much of the chaos that had been happening here. All the blood and dead men was the last thing these poor kids needed to see. Once they were past all the bodies on the floor and around the corner, Huntress headed out of the building, just in time to hear the first sirens approaching. She'd leave the kids with the cops and be out of here to rest at home for the night.

Her work here was done, and she was already imagining the anger on Mandragora's face when he heard what she'd done…

* * *

 _ **You can tell this story is heavily influenced by the Marvel Netflix shows. It even has its own hallway fight! ;)**_

 _ **And now we've had our debut of Huntress, the Birds's more violent and kill-happy member. So how will she end up meeting Batgirl? Will she become less of a killer? You'll see in later chapters as for now, the next chapter will debut the final member of the Birds of Prey, "Black Canary"...**_


	3. Chapter 3: Black Canary

_Chapter 3: Black Canary_

"Gotta hand it to you, Green Arrow, you sure now how to give a lady a good night out!"

"You know me Black Canary, I like our nights together to be unforgettable!"

The blonde, leather-clad heroine rolled her eyes as she raised her arm to block another attack from a goon in a beanie hat that tried to swing a plank of wood onto her. She felt more annoyed than anything as she effortlessly countered his attack and knocked him down with a flat-palmed strike to the chest. One would think with her reputation in the superhero community, anyone in her vicinity would just throw down their weapons and run away instead of foolishly trying to attack her.

It was a typical night out in Star City for Green Arrow and Black Canary. Much like how Gotham's crime never seemed to rest, especially at night, Star City was crawling with criminal activity. The billionaire archer had received a tip-off that there was a deal being carried out between a couple of gangs on the streets tonight so he and his blonde companion had decided to infiltrate said deal. They had found the right place, which proved to them that Green Arrow's tip-off had been accurate, and had stayed still while watching from the rooftops so they could hear what was going down. The two groups were small-time gangs, one called the "Star Bruisers Gang" and the other called "The Hellcats", that wanted to reach the ranks of bigger name criminals in Star City such as Brick or China White. So, the gang leaders were proposing an alliance between gangs to strengthen their numbers and make them more fearsome to the public so they could be taken more seriously. They even plotted what to do for their first crime together as a united force. That had amused Green Arrow more than anything. These two gangs consisted of lowly biker-boys and girls who weren't anywhere near the levels of Star City's worst criminals. They were poor, undisciplined, had poor battle skills and were useless with most weapons. They also had none of the resources that would make any of them a threat as big as Brick or China White. If either of them saw these two in action, they would laugh at them. The emerald archer almost felt sorry for them as he and Black Canary dropped down to incapacitate them all. These poor, poor sods, thinking they had a chance to be big-name criminals! They were better off trying to intimidate Malcolm Merlyn! But still, crime was crime and they couldn't let either gang walk freely as they were still dangerous, even if they were below any of Green Arrow's bigger enemies. Lives could still be endangered if they tried to carry out their plot to become bigger than before.

And thus they had found themselves here, another round of kicking butt and bringing down the scum of Star City. To nobody's surprise, the two vigilantes were winning and the fight had barely even started. Black Canary wrapped her arm around one of the men from the Star Bruisers Gang and pressed against his throat long enough to stop him breathing and make him fall unconscious. She was careful not to strangle him to death, letting go the moment he fell limp and leaving his body to slide down to the floor. One of the female members, a girl dressed in an open black jacket that showed off her bra and stomach, pulled out a chain with a large stone still attached to one end from where she'd pulled it out of a wall one time and swung it around. She charged towards Black Canary, screaming savagely as she swung the chain at her. The black-clad woman was already out of her way before the girl had even made her move, the chain swinging past her and hitting the ground with a clang. Black Canary stood on it, pinning the chain down with her foot before the Star Bruisers girl could retract her weapon. She pulled on the chain, trying to yank it free but Black Canary was too strong for her. Her legs were like clamps, once she pinned something or somebody down with her foot, there was no shaking her loose. Smirking, Black Canary grabbed the chain and pulled on it herself, effortlessly dragging the criminal towards her. The girl cried out as she staggered forwards and Black Canary punched her directly between the eyes. Her punch left an ugly, red mark on the girl's face and threw her down onto her back heavily. She clutched her face in agony, feeling the mother of all pain flowing through her whole head. Black Canary's punch felt like a cinderblock to her. How was she so strong?! The unfortunate thug didn't get time to ponder this question as Black Canary knocked her out shortly afterwards with a hard kick to the side of her head. She imagined the girl would wake up with quite a headache in the morning.

She heard somebody coming and turned around to see a thug from The Hellcats gang. He had decorative spikes all over the shoulders of his jacket and wristbands, as well as the infamous snarling cat face surrounded by fire logo that all Hellcats members had on the back of their jackets. He wielded a baseball bat with a nail hammered through the top of it. He had a confident smirk on his face as if he could handle the situation.

"You know something babe, I might be willing to take it easy on ya if you just run away right now." he sneered, "I'd hate to have to batter a pretty face like yours in. If you surrender now, I'll let ya stay pretty and maybe give ya a fun time while the night's still young."

"How nice of you." Black Canary scoffed, her voice dripping in sarcasm, "Unfortunately for you, you're not my type."

In one swift movement, she had effortlessly managed to disarm the thug by kicking the baseball bat out of his hands and had pinned him to the wall with her gloved hand around his throat. She held him in place until he eventually passed out, tossing his limp body on top of a nearby dumpster. It was a fitting place for garbage like him to be found by the cops later, she thought. Black Canary then picked up the man's baseball bat and threw it towards another Hellcats member, the weapon spinning through the air like a shuriken. The end which had no nail through it slammed straight into the back of the criminal's head, bringing him down in seconds. The baseball bat clattered down onto the ground just in front of him. Seeing this happen, two Hellcats members, one male and one female, both decided to double-team Black Canary. This broad couldn't possibly handle two of them at once, or so they thought. They both grabbed hold of the metahuman and slammed her against the wall, trying their best to pin her to it so they could batter her to a bloody pulp. The girl slugged Black Canary in the stomach three times while the boy took out a flip knife and deployed the blade so he could stab the blonde woman in the heart. Black Canary simply kneed him in the groin to stop him dead in his tracks, the attack like no pain the boy had ever felt before. His eyes bulged and he crumpled, clutching his tender spot and gritting his teeth so hard that they almost cracked. With his grip broken, the girl was helpless to keep Black Canary pinned as she punched her in the side of her head and made her let go as the punch disoriented her. Then Canary wrestled herself around the girl and slammed her head against the wall, leaving a splotch of blood where it hit. The girl passed out and collapsed onto her side beside the boy. Black Canary shook her head pitifully. Those poor thugs, thinking they were anywhere near her level of fighting prowess. She imagined even The Riddler could give her a better challenge.

The blonde woman looked over at her love to see how he was handling everything. Green Arrow seemed to be having no problems at all, shooting arrows left and right while also trading quips, just as he usually did. His bearded face was curled into a smirk of arrogance and confidence as he fired another trick arrow at one of the Star Bruisers, the arrow breaking open to through a net over him and pin him down to the ground. The helpless goon squirmed but couldn't get free from it.

"Man, at the rate I'm going, I dunno if I'll run out of quips or arrows first!" he crowed, kicking out backwards as another Star Bruiser crept up on him and tried to ambush him from behind. His smirk never left his face as he did this.

"Too bad for you that I was trained to watch my back." he added as the criminal fell down on his back from the kick, "Maybe you should try it someday and you won't get masked vigilantes kicking your ass every night."

He then punched the man in the face as hard as he could to knock him out. He drew another arrow out from his quiver and loaded his bow, ready to make another shot. As he did so, he heard the familiar sound of another arrow forming in its place, making it look as if he had never taken one. How fortunate for him that Queen Industries had made this technological breakthrough! Making a quiver that could recycle atoms in the air to make new arrows had saved his skin more times than he could remember. With no limit on how many arrows he could use, he always had spare ammo to use. He drew his bow back and spun around, wondering what his next target was going to be. He saw a Hellcat member coming towards him with a pair of knuckle dusters on her fists. She was in for a nasty surprise as he released the string and sent the arrow flying towards her. The Hellcat girl didn't get time to dodge as the arrow detonated in front of her and threw a huge blob of glue over her, knocking her down onto her back and sticking her there. The glue held tight, refusing to release her as she struggled. Even Brick himself would struggle to break free of this and he was a million times stronger than any normal human. Green Arrow left the girl alone, feeling he didn't need to deal with her while she was stuck. Even without Arsenal on his side, he was forever grateful to him for his idea on the "trick arrow". The boy's technical skills had been invaluable to him and still continued to serve him well.

He loaded his bow again and fired another arrow at a Star Bruisers thug that was trying to tackle Black Canary. The arrow hit his ankles and broke apart, unveiling a rope with weights tied to either end that wrapped around his feet and tripped him up. The thug landed down heavily, breaking some of his teeth as his chin hit the tarmac. He was just about to untie his feet before Green Arrow ran up to him and kicked him in the face to subdue him. He lay still on the ground, his eyes closed. He looked up to Black Canary, who had seen what he'd done, and smiled at her.

"Just watching your back Canary." he said jovially.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" Black Canary retorted in jest, smirking in response.

"Depends how you view it, whether it's just me helping you out or trying to impress you." Green Arrow remarked, "Or maybe a bit of both, take your pick."

"I pick "taking this moment to watch YOUR back"!" Black Canary cried out as she leapt over her boyfriend and dropkicked a Hellcats member that was just about to club him around the head with a baseball bat. Green Arrow watched her take him down with ease and knock him out. He only smiled sheepishly.

"I knew he was there, I just let you do that." he said meekly.

"You trying to convince me or yourself of that?" Black Canary sneered.

Green Arrow could only chuckle in response. This was what he loved about Black Canary; the girl had a wit sharper than his archery skills. She was the only one who could really match him in a battle of wits. But bantering would have to wait for later for the remaining members of the two gangs began to surround them, closing in so they could take them both on together. The Star City superheroes stood back-to-back, preparing for battle as their enemies closed in. They didn't show any signs of fear or being intimidated.

"Let's finish this." Green Arrow declared.

"Ditto. This party's getting boring." Black Canary agreed, "Time it was over."

The two vigilantes sprang into action with Black Canary taking care of the thugs on their right while he took on the thugs on their left. In order to take them down as quickly as possible so they could bring this battle to an end, Black Canary knew just what to do. She opened her mouth and let fly the very thing that made her such a terrifying presence for any criminal or supervillain facing her…her infamous Canary Cry. All the thugs heard was a loud, ear-shattering scream that made their ears feel like they were about to explode and powerful sonic waves hit them, knocking them clean off their feet and sending them hurling into the walls in the alleyway. They all crashed down onto the ground, landing here and there and groaning in pain as they landed down heavily. Luckily for them, Black Canary had perfect control of her sonic scream so she hadn't done anything worse to them than just send them flying backwards, although some of them wondered if they'd ever be able to hear again. Black Canary noticed with dismay that one of the thug's left ear was leaking with blood, suggesting his eardrum had burst from her sonic scream attack. He would now be permanently death in that ear. She had hoped that she wouldn't cause this to happen again but unfortunately, it still happened on occasion where she caused damage like this. She still had plenty of practice in making sure she never burst anyone's eardrums with her Canary Cry. But Black Canary had something else to worry about as one remaining thug had managed to sneak up on her and clamp his hand around her mouth, preventing her from trying that again. The thug was the largest and strongest member of the Hellcats, his muscles so large that they always seemed to be fighting for space whenever he moved. He was bald and had a thick moustache that almost looked alive whenever his mouth moved. He clamped hold of Black Canary, one arm wrapped around her while the other held her mouth. Black Canary squirmed in his grip, trying to shake herself loose. The beefy man smirked.

"Heh, heh, heh…I wonder how renowned I'll become in the criminal underworld when I become the man that killed Green Arrow's bitch?" he crowed, speaking in a voice so deep that he sounded like approaching thunder.

He was about to finish her off but Black Canary had managed to shake herself enough times that her mouth was able to open up behind the man's hand. She quickly sunk her teeth down into it, biting down so hard that she drew blood. She had to try her best not to gag as she tasted it on her tongue. The man howled in anguish, letting her go as he clutched his bloodied hand in pain. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, Black Canary delivered a roundhouse kick to the head that knocked him down onto his side with ease. If anybody else had done that, the man wouldn't have even flinched. Before he could get up again, Black Canary somersaulted into the air and brought a downwards kick sweeping through the air and landing straight on top of his head, knocking him out completely. His eyes closed and he lay still, his enormous chest raising and falling with his breathing. Panting, Black Canary wiped her mouth again for there was still blood on her lips and teeth.

"I am NOT Green Arrow's bitch…" she hissed angrily.

She then thought of Green Arrow and turned around to see how he was doing. Much like him, he'd finished taking down his half of the thugs. Both gangs were now completely incapacitated, not a single man or woman conscious or able to move. That was fine for both of them, it meant their work was done and they could move on. Green Arrow panted, wiping his forehead as he surveyed the scene around them.

"Well…that was refreshing." he muttered, "You done here Canary?"

"I've got everybody." Black Canary said grimly, "And I think I might have the taste of blood in my mouth for a while…"

Green Arrow nodded, seeing the muscular man's hand, which was still bleeding from the bite wound he'd received from Black Canary. He had a feeling that man would need a few stitches for that. With nothing left for them to do now, Green Arrow and Black Canary left the alleyway and headed off into the night, leaving a whole horde of bodies for the police to collect. Both them knew for a fact that they'd be busy with so many people to lock up. At least the streets of Star City would be safer without these two gangs causing trouble wherever they went…

* * *

The rest of the night went much smoother after that. Neither Green Arrow or Black Canary had come across any crimes that needed their attention, or even any crimes that were being committed at all, throughout the rest of the city. Any crimes that were happening were small enough for the police to handle so they didn't need to get involved. It was nice to see the police being able to handle things on their own for a change, it showed that the world didn't always need superheroes and the men and women working on the force weren't obsolete as many feared they would be thanks to the rise of superheroes in recent years and the formation of the Justice League. Nevertheless, the archer and the martial artist hung around for a long time just to make doubly sure that everything was under control and they weren't needed. After midnight, the superhero duo had decided that they wouldn't be needed anymore and had headed back to Green Arrow's luxury apartment to settle in for the rest of the night. Green Arrow had been disappointed as he felt like he could still go on for a bit longer but knew full well that he didn't have to be there if he wasn't needed.

Upon arriving home, Green Arrow and Black Canary shed their costumes and put on night clothes as they went to bed to get some much needed sleep. Out of costume, they were a pair of people who couldn't be living more different lives. Green Arrow was Oliver Queen, the billionaire CEO of Queen Industries, a huge company that had made its profits off of weapons and munitions. He hadn't approved of the impact his company's weapons had had on the world so Oliver had donated much of his fortune to war relief efforts and now used his money to fund his crime-fighting activities as well as donate to charities and co-fund the efforts of the Justice League alongside Bruce Wayne's own company, Wayne Enterprises. With his huge net-worth, Oliver could afford many of the finer things in life, including his lavish apartment.

His apartment was the kind that only the other half could afford to live in with pristine interiors, neat layouts, fine works of art decorating the walls and the best of whatever amenities a living space needed. His bedroom in particular was spacious enough to become a second living room and had huge windows that gave the billionaire a beautiful view of his beloved city. Oliver enjoyed sleeping in there every night as he loved to watch the view outside before going to sleep.

Black Canary was Dinah Lance, and she didn't enjoy anywhere near the luxury and riches that Oliver had in his pockets. Not that money mattered to her as she was the sort of woman who didn't care much for money. Her life had been rough, even from childhood, and it had led to her becoming one of the world's most skilled martial artists to ever live. Even Lady Shiva had complimented her skills and that woman was infamous for being practically unstoppable. Dinah hadn't been proud of her skills, knowing that she knew things that couldn't be unlearned, namely many different ways to kill or cripple people. It made her feel like a living weapon and she put more effort than any superhero out there to control her abilities so she didn't end up with dead bodies on her hands unless absolutely necessary. Her infamous Canary Cry was another power she had to be careful of as that could obliterate even an entire building if she didn't use it wisely. She had often wondered how she had that ability and came to learn years later that she had been born with a metagene, which had granted her this ability. Many years had been spent trying to perfect her use of the scream but despite years of practice, she still had moments like tonight where she'd cause damage to somebody's ears. This in turn had caused her to rely more on her martial arts skills than her superpower, only using the scream if the situation required it or if she was up against a super powered villain.

Dinah and Oliver had first met while both had been tackling the same crime one night in Star City and the two had hit it off despite a bumpy start. They'd been close for many years of superhero work and were deeply in love. Dinah had even moved into Oliver's apartment with him just last year. She'd also been a part of the lives of Green Arrow's sidekicks, becoming a surrogate mother figure to people like Roy Harper and Artemis Crock. Over time, she'd easily become a part of the Arrow Family despite not wielding a bow or arrows. And yet, Dinah couldn't help but wonder if she really belonged in the family with Oliver Queen and his vast wealth.

After getting into bed, Oliver and Dinah had a few minutes of sex between them, both enjoying the pleasure of each other immensely before they both lay back in the pillows and fell asleep together. Tonight's activities had been tiring for them both and they'd needed that moment between them. But as they lay in bed, Oliver had fallen asleep almost instantly whereas Dinah was having trouble doing so. It wasn't her boyfriend's snoring that was keeping her awake, although that wasn't helping. No, it was instead what the thug had called her before trying to kill her. Dinah was having trouble getting those words out of her head. "Green Arrow's bitch". Was that how the criminal underworld viewed her? Not as a superheroine in her own right but just Green Arrow's right-hand woman? It made her blood boil to think of the many names she'd been called by criminals over time. They loved to call her things like "Green Arrow's bitch", "Green Arrow and his broad sidekick", "The archer and the bimbo", "The blonde whore who follows Green Arrow, "Arm-candy for Star City's vigilante" and so much more. It was all very disheartening to receive such derogatory names on the job while Green Arrow was still somewhat respected by the criminal underworld. Few people ever called HIM anything demeaning! They still called him "Green Arrow" or "the Archer of Star City"! The worst he ever got called was a joking name-call of "Robin Hood", and that was hardly an insult as it implied he was as skilled and good-natured as the legendary folklore figure of England's past. Why didn't she have that same level of respect amongst criminals? Why was she just "Green Arrow's whore" to them? This sexist treatment she was getting was disgusting and she couldn't stand it anymore. She was a member of the Justice League for crying out loud! Surely THAT should make the scum of the Earth quiver in their boots! She was even stronger and much more of a threat than Green Arrow himself and tended to overshadow him in their outings together so why did he have a higher reputation while she was viewed as just as "sidekick"? But it wasn't just that she had to think about either, there was something else bothering her as well.

These thoughts had kept her awake all night and before Dinah knew it, morning had dawned on Star City once again with a beautiful sunrise creeping over the horizon and bringing light to the metropolis's huge skyscrapers and towers. She had given up trying to sleep and was out of bed before Oliver even woke up, dressing herself up in casual clothes and standing on the balcony to look over the city and watch the sunrise, a soft breeze blowing through her beautiful blonde hair. She had done all this quietly to make sure she didn't wake Ollie up too early. At around nine o'clock, Oliver was out of bed too and was surprised to see his girlfriend up so early. That made him feel concerned for her. Whenever Dinah was up early, it meant something was troubling her. He dressed himself up and then approached her, his blue eyes full of concern for his love.

"Something on your mind Di?" he asked softly.

"That obvious is it?" the blonde woman sighed, "I can't keep anything from you can I?"

"Not always." Oliver agreed, "You've never been the best at hiding whenever something's been bothering you."

Dinah nodded. It was something she'd always been bad at, but not that she minded as she had wanted to share her problems with Green Arrow anyway. She turned to him.

"Do you see me as a superheroine in my own right Ollie?" Dinah asked.

Oliver stared at her incredulously as if she'd just asked a really stupid question.

"Do I see you…why in the name of Star City would you ask that Di?" the blonde man asked, flabbergasted.

"I've been thinking over the many names that I've been referred to ever since we've been crime-fighting together." Dinah explained, "You ever notice that there seems to be a recurring theme to those comments? The criminals we face always see you as the big threat to their operations whereas me, they just seem to view me as your "bitch" or just arm-candy for you to show people. No matter how many times I kick their asses and maybe break something on them, they still view me as your pet whore…"

She looked away sadly, feeling guilty having to bring up these horrible comments in front of Ollie. The billionaire looked dismayed to be hearing all of this, his face falling as he took this all in.

"Is that all I am to the criminal underworld? Just your girl?" Dinah muttered, "Just your whore, your bitch or your broad? It's…it's infuriating to be at the ass of so many sexist, misogynistic remarks."

"Di, those are just assholes who have no idea what they're talking about!" Oliver exclaimed, "You shouldn't let that get to you. You and I both know you're nothing like what they call you!"

"Easy for you to say when the worse they ever call you is "Robin Hood"." Dinah retorted, "The criminal underworld sees you for what you are. For me? They probably see me more as a hooker in a strip club than a legitimate superhero. And I don't want that kind of reputation, even if they're just assholes who deserve no attention."

She put her hands on Oliver's shoulders and looked into his eyes. They were as bright as ever and still full of warmth, just what she liked in them.

"It's not only that Ollie, but I've had something else to consider." the metahuman admitted, "You remember my band, right?"

"Don't see how I could forget them." Oliver said with a slight chuckle, "They're all quite a bunch and make some killer tunes! You feel like it's been too long since you last saw them right?"

"Pretty much." Dinah confirmed, "I've been so caught up in my superhero life that I haven't thought to come back to maybe record a new album with the band. I haven't even seen them since our last tour! So with all that, plus the constant derogatory remarks I've been getting while fighting crime with you…I've been thinking that it might be time that we…parted ways. Time for this bird to fly solo, if you'll excuse the pun."

She looked away after saying that, hoping that her love wouldn't take this the wrong way. She had said what she'd wanted to say but now Dinah was wondering if she'd worded it right and if she'd said anything wrong, or implied anything she hadn't meant to. She looked back up at Oliver to see how he was taking this. The bearded man seemed to be deep in thought over what she'd said. He clearly looked a little upset to hear that she wanted to split up for a time. But he didn't seem angry at least. Maybe he would take it better than she thought. Oliver finally answered.

"So you think you need some time away and back with your band for a while?" the archery-expert asked, "How long do you think you'll be away?"

"Depends I guess." Dinah mused, "They might need me for a while. Also while I'm back with them, I could use this time to go solo and maybe shake off my reputation as just your piece of arm-candy. I don't mean any of this as something against you in anyway." she insisted, "You know that despite how insufferable you can be at times, I love you more than anything Ollie and I would never do this to imply that I can't stand being with you. It's just that it's come to the point I think I need to go my own way for now."

Oliver nodded understandingly. He had hoped that it wouldn't come to this for Dinah's presence had made him feel complete and she added something extra to his life. With her going solo, it'd feel like he was missing something and it'd take some time to get used to going solo himself again. But he had learned over time that not everything was about him and he couldn't put his needs above everybody else's like he used to before. He pulled Dinah into a hug, smiling sadly at her.

"I get you Di, and I support you all the way." he said softly, "Good luck with your band and giving yourself a proper reputation. You know, with Roy and Artemis on their own teams and now you're leaving, it feels like everybody's walking out on me! Guess it shows I'm lousy at keeping people in my life."

"I'm not walking out on you Ollie." Dinah insisted, "We'll remain in contact and I assure you, I WILL come back. This isn't gonna be a forever kind of thing. I'll be back sometime soon Ollie, and that's a promise."

"Then I hope to hear from you soon babe." the billionaire said brightly.

The two then shared a loving, passionate kiss between each other, making the most of it as they knew it was going to be their last kiss in a while. Dinah was feeling a lot better after admitting all of this to Oliver, that she needed to go alone for a time and reunite with the band as she'd been away from them for too long and she wanted to have a solo career to hopefully build up a better reputation for herself. She was also really grateful to her boyfriend for taking it so well. She had expected him to get mad and get the wrong idea as he wasn't always known for being rational and level-headed. Maybe time with her had had a positive impact on him and made him more able to listen to reason.

Very soon afterwards, the two had had a plentiful breakfast between them of fruit, cereal and sweet pastries before Dinah packed her cases to go on her way. She tied them all together onto the back of her motorcycle to carry them all. Dinah was a biker girl and she was quite fond of her motorcycle, a Harley-Davidson VRSC (commonly nicknamed the V-Rod) with a 1,247 cc engine and top speed of 144 mph. It was painted black and bore an image of a black bird with a yellow outline on the wheels. In her civilian life, she'd taken it for a spin with Oliver riding along with her, some good times outside of their superhero careers they'd spent together. Dinah started up the engine, which purred into life and revved loudly as she prepared to take off on it. Oliver stood on the pavement, watching as his girlfriend was about to drive away. He waved to her.

"See you around Di!" he yelled to her over the noise of the engine.

"Not if I see you first Ollie!" Dinah called back, waving in return.

She twisted the handles and set off, the bike roaring down the road as she drove away from Ollie's apartment and set off for her next destination. She had heard from a text on her phone she'd received before leaving that her band's next performance was in a place she had never expected they would perform in…Gotham City.

* * *

Several hours later, Dinah had finally arrived in Gotham City, zooming over the bridge that allowed entry into the infamous city. As she headed towards the recording studio where her band was stationed and waiting for her, her eyes swept around the city as she rode through. It seemed that not much had changed since she'd last been in Gotham. She wondered how Batman and his sidekicks were doing. She'd heard of Jason Todd's death and had hoped Batman was coping well despite the tragedy that had befallen him. The blonde woman wondered how she would've felt if that had been Roy or Artemis that had been battered to death by The Joker. Chances are, she'd be after him and ready to snap his neck.

Upon arriving in Gotham, the biker girl had first dropped by a hotel that she'd booked to stay in for the time she and her band would be recording their new album. She didn't stay long, just signing in and then dropping off her cases so she wouldn't be dragging them around with her much longer. A few minutes later, Dinah left the hotel and got on her bike again to join up with the band. In a short while, she finally found where she was looking to go. It was a huge, cube-shaped building with the words "Gotham Records" across the top of it. This was the biggest recording studio in Gotham City and many Gothamites who were into the music industry came here to record albums and singles. It surprised Dinah to think her band was going to be recording here of all places. It wasn't that she had a problem with Gotham City or anything, just that she didn't think her band would want to record an album in a city so notorious for its crime rates rather than somewhere safer. Then again, this was the Black Canary Band, a band with a reputation for being "The Most Dangerous Band In The World", recording an album in Gotham City was hardly out of the ordinary for them. She pulled up outside the studio and flicked down the bike's kickstand. The bike leaned to one side as she demounted from it and walked into the studio. As she headed in, she didn't notice that curiously enough, there was a rat lying just beside the building. The little rodent's breathing was erratic and it seemed to have strange, black blotches on its body. It didn't have much life left in it, close to death's door from whatever disease had infected it. The disease that had infected it would go on to cause trouble for all of Gotham City and neither Dinah nor anybody else would be ready for it…

Upon entering the studio, Dinah had gone straight to the room where her bandmates had set up and were ready to play. The text she'd received had told her they'd be in Studio A-113, which was close to the top floor of the studio. Dinah was looking forward to seeing them all again. It had been too long since she'd last seen her band and longer still that they'd recorded anything together. She'd had to abandon a lot of sessions due to her superhero life and that made the metahuman feel a little guilty. Would they resent her for this? The text she'd received hadn't indicated they were mad at her so maybe Dinah had nothing to worry about. She breathed in slowly as she approached Studio A-113. This was it, one step through the door and it was back into her music life for the time being.

She'd changed her costume for this occasion, wearing a more rocker-type outfit with some resemblance to her superhero costume. She was now in a blue corset with black shorts, fishnet stockings and black boots that weren't as high up on her legs as the ones on her superhero costume. To finish off, she also wore a black leather jacket that bore the band's logo, a black bird with a yellow outline and the words "Black Canary Band" written underneath it on the back. Dinah opened the door and saw the very trio of girls she'd been keen to see for the first time in a while. There they were, her bandmates, all on their instruments and practicing away. They looked up in the direction of the door and saw who had entered. Their faces all seemed to light up with delight at the sight of Dinah Lance, their lead singer, walking into the studio. Each member was on a different instrument. One was playing the guitar, the second was on the drums and the third was on the keyboard. Their names were Ditto, Lord Byron and Paloma Terrific.

Ditto was the one on the guitar and was the smallest and youngest member of the band. She was nineteen years old, yet looked more like a child with her baby-face and short stature. She also had a habit of wearing hats of varying makes whenever she performed. Ditto was also known for being the quiet one. She didn't talk, the others wondering if she could even do so. But that didn't matter to them as everybody in the band get on with her well.

Lord Byron was the one on the drums and known for being laid back and easy going. Despite being female, she was often mistaken for a male due to her boyish features and masculine haircut. She liked to look this way, feeling it made her look tough and showed she wasn't anyone to mess around with. No one really knew why she called herself "Lord Byron", it was certainly a strange stage name to have, but not that the band minded.

Paloma Terrific was the one on the keyboard and despite being angsty, she was close to the other bandmates and had a dry sense of humour. She had long black hair and dressed in baggy shirts and black trousers that stopped just above her ankles. The clothes were often reflective of her moods. As well as being an ace on the keyboard, she was a sharp shooter, trained by Dinah herself to use a gun to defend herself should the band ever be attacked.

The three girls all swarmed around Dinah and embraced her, squealing delightedly over the sight of her. Dinah returned the gesture gratefully.

"No way, you decided to show up!" Byron exclaimed.

"Where ya been this whole time Dinah?! It's been ages!" Paloma cried.

Ditto only beamed with pleasure as she hugged her friend.

"Girls, girls, take it easy, I'll explain everything!" Dinah yelled with a laugh, "I didn't realize I was missed so much!"

"You didn't think your own band would miss its lead singer?" Byron retorted, smiling playfully.

"Point taken, but it really is good to see you all again." Dinah replied, "It's been too long since we last saw each other."

"So how's life been for ya since you joined the Justice League?" Paloma asked, "We heard ya hang out with Green Arrow a lot. Mind telling us about that?" she added, winking.

Dinah took a moment to let the band know what had been going on since they'd last seen each other. She didn't spare any details, telling about her outings with Green Arrow and the Justice League, which explained to them why she hadn't been around for a while. Dinah also filled them in on why she'd come back and what she was doing out here. All three of her friends showed visible disgust at how the criminal underworld seemed to view her and the derogatory labels they'd given her whilst on duty.

"So yeah, I feel that I need to get back with you guys and go solo in my superhero duties." Dinah admitted, "I don't wanna be just associated with Green Arrow. I want these guys to see me for the kind of hero I REALLY am."

"Don't blame ya." Paloma muttered, "If any of them jerks had been calling ME shit like that, I'd have knocked the fuckers down on their asses!" she growled, clenching her fists.

"Well among us Di, you know that you're none of those things." Byron said reassuringly, "You're the face of the band and part of our family, and that's all you'll ever be around us."

Ditto nodded in agreement, believing her friends were absolutely right on their lead singer. She too felt the same way towards Dinah. The blonde woman smiled graciously, patting the mute girl's head.

"Thank you, all of you. I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have you guys." Dinah said.

"No sweat Di." Byron insisted, "So, you ready to rock?"

"More than ever." the leather-clad superheroine confirmed, "So what's going down here then?"

"Heathcliff wants us to push out a new album." Paloma explained, "Calls it "EP-1". No idea why, he just did. Also not sure why he wanted us to record here of all places but he reckons Gotham Records will give us the best sound for this album. We were just about to practice the music for the album's first track, Fish out of Water."

Ditto handed Dinah a sheath of papers that were stapled together. The rock singer scanned it curiously. It was a song sheet for her containing the song's lyrics and the notes she had to hit. She read through the lyrics with interest, keen to give her vocals a go at singing them. She supposed the song suited her in some way. As a superhero with the metahuman ability to emit sonic screams, she too felt like a fish out of water. She looked up from the papers.

"I say, let's get practicing girls. Let's make EP-1 like NO album ever recorded!" Dinah cried with enthusiasm.

The band whooped in agreement, keen to get started on making the song. It felt good to not only be making music again, but to have the band back together to make said music. The quartet of females were going to give this album their all and truly make it sound rocking.

But as they prepared to practice the album's first song, neither of them had any idea on what was to come. For Dinah Lance in particular, her venturing out of Star City would give her more than just music to record and songs to sing. She also had no idea that her superhero life would catch up to her much sooner than expected…

* * *

A lone rat scurried down the corridor and towards a door that was open ajar for it to slip through and into the room behind it. The small, furry creature had been summoned there by its master for he wanted to know what it had witnessed tonight. Usually on a night like this, rats would be scurrying through the streets in search of food and to hide from predators. Not this one though. It and several other rats served a higher purpose than any normal rodent scrounging the streets. Its mind had been taken over by a powerful telepathic force that had erased all of its natural instincts and made it a puppet for the one in control of it.

The rat entered the room, still able to see despite it being really dark inside. The dark was never an obstacle for a rat, not when their natural habitats often included burrows in the forest. The room had only a single desk and a chair in which its master was sitting. The room didn't even have any windows, suggesting its occupant didn't like much to look outside and see the world. The rat crawled up onto the desk and sat up obediently on its hind legs as the person in the chair looked down at it from behind glass eyes. This was its master and he didn't seem particularly happy, not that it would've been able to tell due to his face being concealed behind a mask. He was holding a cane and was tapping a soft rhythm on the floor.

"What have you got to report my little spy?" the masked man purred softly.

The rat gave a few squeaks in response. Despite this, its master seemed to understand what it was saying. The man nodded in acknowledgement.

"The Gotham Rats are all hospital bound…you've seen it all…" he murmured, "Those incompetent fools allowed themselves to be intercepted and now they're in a position where they're vulnerable for the Batman and whoever's associated with him!"

He banged the cane down on the floor angrily, making his little rodent spy jump in fright. Its instincts told it to run away from the noise but the man's control kept it from going anywhere.

"They may have their little credo, but that doesn't necessarily mean any of them will stick to it." the man muttered, "I'll have to silence them all, just to make sure none of them can talk to the authorities. My plans must remain undiscovered; it's too soon for them to be unveiled."

He stood up from his chair, his hand tightening around his cane. The rat under his control scurried away to join any other rat that was working for him.

"I'm afraid it's time to carry out some extermination…" the man mused, sounding anything but afraid.

* * *

 _ **And now we've had our final Bird introduced. So what will happen and what will bring these three together in the end? What does the masked man seem to be planning? And how will he silence his own minions?**_

 _ **Tune in next time for the heroines have had their debuts, now its time for their villain to show up in "The Ratcatcher"...**_


	4. Chapter 4: The Ratcatcher

_Chapter 4: The Ratcatcher_

 _Gotham City, the day before…_

Mrs. Milligan hummed quietly to herself as she opened up one of the rat cages and filled the rat's bowl up with pellets for it to eat. The little rodent's nose twitched eagerly as it registered that breakfast was here and it scampered over to eat. It grabbed one of the pellets with its tiny paws and held it delicately as it feasted away. Mrs. Milligan smiled, glad to see that the rat was eating. A rat with no appetite was no good to any customer after all. She closed the cage and headed over to a hutch containing rabbits to put some food in the bowls for the two bunnies leaving in there.

Mrs. Milligan was the owner of Gotham Pets, a modest little pet shop in the centre of Gotham City. It wasn't large and the selection of pets on offer was hardly anything unique or special. She just sold rats, Guinea pigs, rabbits, mice, parrots and tortoises. But it had good business nonetheless, selling good pets at good prices and attracting customers all around the city. Mrs. Milligan had been running the place for years, having inherited it from her father before her. She loved working there for she loved working with animals and enjoyed bringing happiness to people. Every time a customer left with a pet she'd sold in their arms, it meant another smile she'd brought to people's faces. The bond between animal and human was always something special and she liked how she would bring them together with her little pet shop. If only her husband and son were here to run the place with her. Her husband worked away as a builder and their son had left to pursue his own life, not wanting to be stuck selling pets for a living. She missed her son and wished her husband could be around to run the shop with her. Still, at least she had the pets for company.

Mrs. Milligan was a homely looking woman with a kind face and a soft personality. She was the sort of person who seemed to have patience with anyone, even children, and loved every animal that she saw, even if they were poisonous or deadly. Animals were her passion and she'd wanted to work with them upon leaving college. The woman imagined she'd inherited all that love from her father when he'd been running the pet shop.

Mrs. Milligan had just finished feeding the Guinea pigs, watching them scamper over to see what good they'd been given and squeaking in excitement. She put down the food bag and was about to get out some food for the parrots but she heard the jingling of a bell that signified that a customer was here. Her feathered friends would have to wait. She turned away and headed over to the counter quickly. What animal of hers was about to find a new home today? She looked forward to seeing what it would be.

"Good morning, welcome to Gotham Pets, home of many fabulous, furry and feathered friends hoping to be your friends for life, how may…"

She stumbled over her last words as she finally got a sign of what her customer looked like. Mrs. Milligan's eyes bulged as she saw quite possibly, the strangest looking man that had ever walked into her shop.

"…help…you?" the pet shop owner blurted out at last as she took in what she was looking at.

The man she was faced with was like no person she'd ever met. He was dressed in the strangest of clothes, nothing that any ordinary human being would wear. He wore a long, brown coat, leathery brown gloves, thick brown boots and a brown flat-topped, wide brimmed hat. What made this combo even stranger was the mask he wore. It had glass eyes that made it hard to see what his actual eyes looked like and in place of a mouth, there was a sharp beak protruding from it. He carried a black cane with a round, spherical silver head in one hand. All of this made him look like a plague doctor, the kind of thing that might appear in a history book on the medieval years in history classes. The only thing that separated him from history was that the clothes had a slightly more modern look, especially the mask, as if the man had wanted to adapt the plague doctor look for a more modern age.

Mrs. Milligan didn't like him at all. Even the other animals seemed to hate him, running away and hiding in their butches or cages so they didn't have to look at him. The parrot squawked wildly. There was something unnerving about the way he stood there, still as a statue with his glass eyes bearing into her like he was trying to read her. With his beaked mask, he was like a vulture waiting for its prey to collapse dead so it could scavenge on it. She was tempted to gasp at the sight of this man but she bit her lip for the time being and swallowed. She had to remember her manners and not show any insensitivity towards this man. Customers were customers and she couldn't judge by how they looked. Clearing her throat, Mrs. Milligan spoke again.

"Do excuse me." she said meekly, "Um, how may I serve you sir?"

The man simply turned his head and looked over at the rats, which seemed to suddenly lose interest in their food and sit up on their hind legs and stare at him inquisitively. They looked like obedient dogs begging for treats. The man turned his head back to the woman at the counter.

"Such wonderful rats you have on display here." he purred, "I'm quite fond of the little rodents. I'll take every one you have."

His voice was soft and weaselly, something that made him even more unnerving to the woman. He didn't talk like any normal person would, his words measured out and his tone of voice sinister. It sounded like he was quietly observing everything around him, like a mad scientist concocting a particularly interesting experiment. Mrs. Milligan nodded.

"You want every rat in the story, got it. I can do that for you." she said quickly, keen to serve this stranger so she could get rid of him already, "It'll tally up to a big price though, these rats aren't cheap…"

She yelped as the man pointed his cane at her like a rapier. He had moved so fast that it was like one minute the cane was down, the next it was up.

"You fail to grasp my meaning." the masked stranger crooned, "I didn't say I'll BUY everyone you have, I said I'll TAKE them. I don't buy rats. I feel it unfair that the poor creatures get to be sold for worthless amounts of money against their will because some ignorant, shallow-minded charlatan wants to buy one and shove it in a cage where it's just there to be looked at for the rest of its life."

He whipped the cane away from the pet shop owner and saw to opening every single cage with a rat inside. Mrs. Milligan watched with anger as the man opened the cages. It wasn't often she got angry but there it was, white hot and flowing through her veins. Who did this freak think he was just barging in like this and freeing her contents?! The man turned to her again, standing still with both hands on his cane while all the freed rats clambered down to the floor and scurried around his feet. Why they seemed interested in him was anybody's guess.

"Put yourself in their place dear woman." the man purred again, "Can you imagine how awful it would be if somebody put YOU in a cage and put a price tag on you? Imagine a customer coming in here to buy you for whatever price you're being sold for? You would consider that…unlawful wouldn't you? It sickens me what hypocrites mankind can be. These poor animals, my beloved rats, treated as pests and vermin yet sold in stores to be kept as pets while humans are never put through such scrutiny and injustice. Rats should be free, just as humans are. That is why I have come here, to free all rats imprisoned in your shop to be sold at whatever sick profit you wish to make."

"Now you listen here, your delusional ranting has gone on long enough!" Mrs. Milligan cried, storming over to him, "I don't know who you think you are but you can leave this store right…"

She didn't get to finish her sentence before the masked man struck her in the side of her head with his cane. He had once again moved so fast that she didn't even catch his movement. One minute he was standing there, the next she was staggering against the counter and clutching her head in pain. Mrs. Milligan winced as her head throbbed terribly. The man lowered his cane and spoke again.

"Rats are treated as a pestilence and a plague." he muttered, "People love to kill them for what little crimes they commit. Humanity commits far worse atrocities every day and yet they're never treated as vermin to be exterminated. My little furry friends have been abused and mistreated for far too long, that is why they need me…the Ratcatcher. I am their saviour, and I am here to pass judgement on mankind and avenge every rodent that has ever been unfairly slain or held captive by their hand."

"I swear sir, I'll call the police!" Mrs. Milligan cried out, still clutching her head.

"To do what exactly? Arrest me for pointing out the truth to mankind's ways?" the Ratcatcher sneered, "All you'll be doing is proving me right, that mankind is nothing more than a plague of hypocrisies, hate and lies. My furry friends won't approve of this at all…"

Just as he said that, several other rats began to file in to the pet shop behind him. Mrs. Milligan stared in disbelief as a whole horde of rats came scurrying into the shop, all varying in breeds and colours. It was like seeing a sea of brown, white, black and grey waving about on the floor. The rats he'd just freed from their cages joined in the swarm. All the other animals stayed hidden nervously, hoping that none of these rats were interested in them. The strange thing about them was that they all seemed to be obediently following the orders of the masked man they swarmed around. He didn't say anything but they were clearly under his control for they didn't do anything to him and kept surrounding him. Mrs. Milligan put a hand over her mouth in astonishment.

"How…what even ARE you?!" she exclaimed.

"A plague to wipe out mankind. I am here to finish what was started back in the Middle Ages so long ago…" the Ratcatcher explained.

Then suddenly, without any visible commands given, the rats all stampeded towards Mrs. Milligan and began climbing onto her. They moved in a flurry of scuttling feet and excited squeaks as they clambered onto her and scuttled around her. Mrs. Milligan screamed in terror as the rats climbed onto her, scratching her all over with their tiny claws. She tried to swipe them away but there were far too many rats to handle. She had no chance of getting them all off. What made things worse for her was that they began biting into her. She cried out in horror and pain as hundreds of tiny mouths full of sharp teeth bit into her. It was like being in a piranha tank, a swarm of hundreds of mouths biting into you from all over. Mrs. Milligan fell over onto the floor as the rats feasted on her, showing no signs of relenting. She squirmed helplessly on the floor, blood seeping from her wounds. The Ratcatcher just watched, silently observing the hideous scene before him with gruesome interest.

"STOP IT, STOP IT PLEASE! GET THEM ALL OFF OF ME!" the poor woman howled feebly.

The Ratcatcher didn't move. He continued to watch as the rats had themselves the biggest feast of their lives, staining the floor with the blood of their victim…

* * *

Barbara Gordon felt as if she'd had the longest sleep of her life. So long in fact that it genuinely amazed her when she finally crawled out from under the covers and saw that her bedside clock was telling her it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The red-head groaned tiredly as she slumped against her pillows. It was quite clear that last night's outing had worn her out more than she'd expected. She thought back to what had happened yesterday: the infiltration of the Gotham Rats hideout, the bloody massacre that had come out from it, Batman torturing a guy half to death to get him to talk, the big fight…and her leaving him. All of that in one night! It was amazing that the commissioner's daughter had even woken up at all after such an exhausting night. Barbara sat up in her bed and stretched. She winced as pain flared through the back of her shoulder and she clutched it instinctively. Her wound had been stitched up but that didn't stop it from hurting. She still felt pain whenever she moved her shoulder. At least the nutjob that had stabbed her wouldn't try it a second time.

Barbara rubbed her brilliant, blue eyes as she tried to get whatever sleep remained in them out. She wouldn't have much time to just have a quiet day to herself before she had to go out as Batgirl again. It was mid-afternoon already! Night would come in a matter of hours so she may as well put whatever time was available to her to good use before it was time to go vigilante again. She climbed out of bed and stretched again, still feeling a little sore from last night. At least the Batgirl costume was protective enough, otherwise she'd be feeling a lot sorer. Barbara quickly dressed herself and went downstairs to get, what she supposed could be considered closer to lunch than breakfast at this time of day. Her stomach was growling, pleading for something to digest. She wondered if her father was around at all. She had hoped to spend the day with him before both had to go on their respective duties. Barbara thought back to how Commissioner Gordon had comforted her while she let out all her grief over Batman's more violent nature and let him know she and him weren't going to be working together for a while. He had been upset to hear about it, also mentioning that he'd been troubled by Batman's more violent nature.

"I'm just glad he didn't hurt you." Gordon had said, "I think you've made the right choice in leaving his side for now Barbara."

"It's clear he's too messed up from Robin's death to think straight so it's best I give him time to get his head in the game, I guess." Barbara murmured, "Though I fear he might end up going too far and now I'm not around, there's no one to hold him back."

"Oh don't worry about that darling, I'll be there to reel him in if he goes too far." the commissioner declared, "I'd hate to have to arrest him despite all the good he's done in the past. I hope it won't come to that."

"You and me both dad…" the red-haired girl agreed.

Afterwards, she'd stripped off the Batgirl suit and the two had spent a few hours chatting about more pleasant things such as what they could do together and what places they could go eat at. The talking had gone on so long that Barbara had drifted off to sleep so her father had left her in her bed while going to sleep in his own.

Barbara entered the kitchen, which looked as if it hadn't been tidied from lunch. There was a plate containing a half-eaten sandwich and an empty mug of coffee. It seemed her father had had to leave in a hurry. He didn't seem to be anywhere else, the most telling sign being she couldn't smell any cigarettes. No smell of cigarettes meant no Jim Gordon. The computer whiz saw that there was a note on the table and she quickly scanned it. It read:

 _Sorry Babs, had to go. There's something going on at the Gotham Pets Store. It sounds gruesome. Hope you finally get out of bed!_

 _Your father XXX_

"No rest for the weary, hey dad?" Barbara sighed to herself.

It made her wonder as she picked up the rest of Gordon's sandwich and finished it off herself. What the hell was going on at a pet store of all places? She'd leave that to the commissioner. Barba had something else to ponder about instead. She thought over it as she walked over to the fridge and took out some components to make lunch for herself. She made a sandwich containing ham, cheese, lettuce, a dollop of mayonnaise and a sprinkle of salt and added a banana and a satsuma to go along with it. To perk herself up, she poured herself a mug of coffee to drink with her lunch. Barbara ate her meal and then went back up into her room, opening up her laptop so she could quickly do some research. The thought had been with her throughout her lunch and she decided now was a good time to look into it.

There was this name the Rat King had told her and Batman last night…the Ratcatcher. It still puzzled the commissioner's daughter. The Ratcatcher? What sort of name was that? It sounded more like an exterminator who took his job way too seriously! And yet, it was presumably the name of the Gotham Rats Gang's boss, or at least the name he went by. Luckily for her, Barbara had access to the GCPD records and could see them on her laptop. She was Jim Gordon's daughter after all so naturally, this kind of information wouldn't be hard for her to get a hold of. She got up the GCPD records once more and quickly searched for anyone going by the name "The Ratcatcher". Her results turned up with absolutely nothing, no files on any criminals going by that name. Barbara frowned. It wasn't like the GCPD to have no files on any crook in Gotham! She couldn't blame it on the system being corrupt; those days were long over thanks to her dad rightfully replacing that scumbag, Loeb, as police commissioner. The police force couldn't be more clean and reliable nowadays. Maybe this was a new face in the criminal underworld. This could well be the Ratcatcher's first foray into the dark underbelly of the city where Gotham's worst seemed to spawn from. Barbara didn't like this as it meant she would be going up against an enemy she wouldn't know about. It would make finding out about him very interesting indeed.

"I just hope I get to him before Bruce does." the redhead hissed, "If he finds him, the Ratcatcher will probably end up half-dead and lying on the streets somewhere!"

She tried something else. Barbara decided to conduct an internet search for the Ratcatcher. She typed the name in the search bar and glanced at the results that came up. The internet was no better for her. It didn't give up any results about crime bosses or goons in Gotham going by the name. All she got was several results relating to exterminators and advice on how to catch rats. She sighed in annoyance. Trust this "Ratcatcher" guy to use a name that could easily mean something else entirely! No one would ever attribute it to a codename used by a crime boss. Then she thought about something else. Barbara went back to the GCPD records and decided to try using fewer words to get a more specific result. How about just typing in the word "rat"? That could yield results. She tried that and was met with a result of some kind. There was a police report about an unsolved murder that had happened a long time ago. At first, Barbara wasn't sure what it had to do with rats but she read on, knowing it would make sense as she did. The report said:

 **Victims: Ben Richard Flannegan and Victoria Ruby Flannegan**

 **Cause of Death: Multiple wounds all over the body, causing severe blood loss. What inflicted the wounds isn't clear but it's suspect that they may have been victims of a severe rat attack as some were seen scurrying around the bodies when they were found. Why the rats attacked them is unknown.**

That made Barbara's eyes widen with interest. Two people were supposedly killed by rats, the reason for the attack being unknown. Her detective-like-mind automatically came to the assumption that there was a hidden connection somewhere. Why would rats kill two people like this, if it had been rats that had killed them? Had this been The Ratcatcher's doing? If so, how did he manage it? The report also mentioned their son had gone missing and hadn't been seen since, listing it down as other notes about the incident. That gave Barbara another thing to ponder. Why were the parents killed but their son had disappeared? Had the Ratcatcher taken him for some reason? If that was the case, she imagined it wasn't good. Maybe he'd fed him to the rats. And now her father was investigating something happening at the Gotham Pets Store. It was crazy to assume that this had anything to do with the Ratcatcher, but she knew full well what pet shops often sold…pet rats. Could the Ratcatcher have caused an attack like what killed the Flannegans to happen at the pet store? It was possible and Barbara was determined to find out. Of course, her father wouldn't want her here but she wasn't going to let that stop her from probing. She would join him at the scene right away!

The superheroine knew where the Gotham Pets Store was located so she'd be able to get there in no time. She shut her laptop down and left her bedroom to properly dress herself up for going out. Barbara wondered if her dad was still there now…

* * *

Commissioner Gordon had seen one of the most horrific crime scenes he had ever seen in his life. He had thought life in Gotham had left him permanently unfazed towards anything gruesome and grisly anymore…and he had been wrong.

Upon arriving at the pet store, he and his men had looked around the place and seen the disgusting remains of Mrs. Milligan's body behind the counter. None of them could even bear to look at it. Even the police who were on duty to wrap the body up in a body bag were struggling to look at it for more than five seconds and kept glancing away as they didn't want to take it in. It made the commissioner wonder what on Earth could possibly have happened to the poor woman. What sick, twisted monster kills a person, peels off some of their flesh and leaves whatever's left to rot away? He stood outside, refusing to look in again until Mrs. Milligan's body had been removed from the scene. Gordon looked relieved when he turned around and saw the body bag emerge from the pet store with two officers carrying it away to be taken to the nearest morgue. His right-hand man, Detective Harvey Bullock came out to join him, the fat officer as usual clenching a cigarette between his teeth. He puffed out smoke and turned to Commissioner Gordon.

"Sight like that's enough ta make even ME lose my appetite!" he muttered.

"That'll be a first." Gordon agreed, "What the hell went down here? It's almost like she was…eaten alive or something!"

"Yeah, but WHAT exactly ate dat poor gal is anyone's guess." Bullock murmured, "I'd have said piranhas but we all know dey don't walk on land. And also, I doubt they'd have left anything aside from the woman's bones. Dat corpse is half-finished."

"Whatever's going on here, I hope we don't get a repeat of it." the commissioner sighed, "I'm still trying not to barf like poor Officer Simone did!"

Bullock nodded. The gruesome scene they'd been met with had been enough to make anyone feel sick. He glanced over at Officer Simone, who was being comforted by other officers who could see she was in great distress. Nobody on any police force should have to see a crime this horrific and twisted.

"Ya know what else is weird commish?" the detective asked, "Looking around dat pet store, there were cages that were supposed to be selling rats. But dey were all empty while all da other cages were full."

"That doesn't mean anything Harv, the rats could've been sold before this attack happened." Gordon noted.

"Yes, but I didn't see any signs saying they'd been sold at all." Harvey pointed out, "The cages were still advertising the rats and saying they were for sale. Seems very suspicious dat the attacker stole a bunch of rats and didn't seem ta take any money…" he murmured cryptically.

"You sure no money was stolen?" Gordon asked.

"Oh yes, I may be no Batman, but I don't miss details like dat." Bullock insisted, "This wasn't a robbery or anything…this was something else entirely."

Gordon nodded, feeling his friend had a point. Who walks into a pet store, murders a woman and then doesn't take anything accept supposedly a bunch of rats? This sounded like something Batman should tackle, this crazed psychopath was clearly someone he'd have experience with. But Jim knew that Barbara would disapprove of getting Batman to investigate. The last thing they needed was to deal with another criminal Batman had beaten half to death. Having to sort out the Gotham Rats Gang last night was tiresome enough! He would tell Barbara about all this and make this her next job as Batgirl, she'd want to look into this.

Just as he thought of his daughter, Barbara approached the crime scene. She was dressed in a long coat that made her look like a detective out on duty. She could see the police gathered around the pet store and quickly walked over to them. As she approached, she failed to notice that someone was walking her way and she bumped into her. The redhead yelped as she staggered backwards while the person she'd bumped into barely even moved. She looked shocked over what had happened and quickly ran over to her.

"Oh I am SO sorry!" she exclaimed, "I didn't see you there."

"No, it's OK, I wasn't watching my surroundings!" Barbara said hastily, "It's OK, no harm done."

She then looked at the woman she'd bumped into, noticing her raven black hair and the Catholic cross around her neck. She also noticed she seemed to be bruised around the face and had a healing cut on the side of her mouth. It made Barbara stare for a minute. This poor woman looked like she'd been in a fight recently.

"Are you OK?" she asked, hoping not to sound rude, "What…what's up with your face? Has somebody been hitting you?"

"It's nothing, really." the woman insisted, "I'm rather accident prone. Say, what's happening over there?" she asked, glancing over at the police investigation at the pet store.

"Something terrible it seems." Barbara muttered, "My dad's working on this so I'm gonna ask him what's happening."

"Your dad works with the GCPD?" the Catholic girl asked with interest.

"More than that, he's the commissioner." the computer genius explained, "I think you should get going and don't worry about what's happening here."

She ran off towards the crime scene while the woman with the Catholic cross watched her go. Instead of leaving like Barbara had suggested, she instead headed towards the investigation so she could see what was happening. She didn't linger too closely, but was close enough to hear voices and was able to make out some of what was being said. She even saw Barbara approach what she presumed was her father and speak to him. Gordon looked incredulous to see her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Barbara, you should get out of here! This is official police work and we can't have you out here!" he hissed frantically.

He kept his voice down low so nobody could hear him. The sound of background traffic and the wind helped to further mask his voice from any prying ears.

"I can see that dad, but you can't keep me out of these things anymore and you know that." Barbara retorted, "I'm your daughter, this is as much my business as it is yours, especially…well, you know." she added. She didn't need to clarify what she meant by that.

Gordon nodded grimly, understanding his daughter's words.

"Before I got here, I started investigating a name that was brought up when we brought down the Gotham Rats Gang." Barbara explained, "One of them said their boss was a guy calling himself "The Ratcatcher". Name ring any bells to you?"

The commissioner thought for a moment.

"The Ratcatcher…no, I don't believe it does." he answered.

"Didn't think it would. I've looked into GCPD records and there's nothing on the guy." his daughter went on, "Must be new around here…I got curious since this attack here's happening at a pet store of all places. The Ratcatcher could be behind it."

"Well Harvey did point out that all the pet rats on sale were gone…" Gordon murmured.

Both he and Barbara nodded together, coming to the same conclusion between them. A man calling himself the Ratcatcher and an attack on a pet shop that has some pet rats missing? That couldn't be a coincidence…

"So we have some idea on what's happened here." Gordon declared, "This could be an attack on behalf of this "Ratcatcher" guy. It might even explain what became of the owner."

"What happened to her?" Barbara asked.

Gordon filled her in quickly on what they'd seen in the shop, graciously sparing Barbara the details. The brainy girl took all this in and thought about what she'd been told.

"Sounds like that police report I read about the couple who's deaths were unclear…" she murmured, "They looked like they'd been eaten alive too, and it was said the likeliest explanation was that rats did it as they'd been seen around the bodies."

"So you think the Ratcatcher somehow got the rats to just eat the pet shop owner alive?" Gordon asked.

"It's a stretch but given half the lunatics that terrorize this city, it's likely." Barbara deduced, "I'll drop by the hospital tonight to ask his gang some questions about their boss. Maybe they'll be willing to talk."

"You better be careful out there Barbara." Gordon said, his voice full of concern, "You won't have Batman to back you up this time…" he whispered, making sure nobody could hear him say that.

"I won't need him dad." Barbara insisted.

She turned and walked away, leaving the commissioner to continue what he was doing. Unbeknownst to the two of them, the black haired woman had listened in on the conversation, though thankfully for them, she hadn't heard the more important details. She had wondered what Gordon had whispered to Barbara but didn't ponder long on it. Instead, she thought about what she'd heard about this supposed "Ratcatcher" character.

"A crime boss calling himself The Ratcatcher…he attacks a pet shop owner and takes the rats with him?" Helena murmured to herself, "Well I know it's nothing in relation to Mandragora. This isn't his style too. Still, a criminal's a criminal and I oughta investigate. I could silence another criminal and put him out of everybody's lives for good…"

With that said, the Italian-American woman walked away, deciding to leave before anybody could notice her. She didn't want to look as if she was spying after all. It seemed that as Huntress, she'd be looking into another criminal. She didn't care that it was somebody she hadn't heard of before. As far as she was concerned, it was another monster to put in the grave. Helena would find this Ratcatcher and, fittingly enough, carry out a little extermination…

* * *

The Ratcatcher strode back into his lair, surrounded by the very rats he'd used to kill Mrs. Milligan at the pet shop. Deep down inside, he felt great pleasure in what he'd done to that impudent woman who dared to imprison his beloved animals in cages to sell for measly profit but his body language showed none of that. He just walked in slowly with his cane tapping on the floor as if he was a ghost stepping out of his grave. It was unnerving how he could feel much joy and yet show little of it. With every step he took, his coat waved around and behind him, the ends flicking up and down as he walked. His lair was dark and uninviting with peeling wallpaper, cracked ceilings and no windows around in any of the rooms. The Ratcatcher had taken them out, preferring the dark as he liked to feel nobody could see what he was doing when shrouded in shadows. The dark brought great comfort to him and made him feel secure. What was left of the windows were just boarded up or filled in with bricks. There were lights, but even then when they were turned on, they only lit very dimly.

The Ratcatcher could see that there was one light on in one of the rooms and he and his rats walked up to it to have a look inside. The room was just as featureless as most of his lair with nothing but a single table and a chair filling any space in it. There was a woman sitting at the chair and working on something. The woman was German and wore a mask that concealed a part of her face and her nose. She was surrounded by chemistry equipment that was spread out all over the entire table. There were glass tubes, jars full of all sorts of colourful liquids that didn't look drinkable in the slightest, Bunsen burners, tri-pods and much more. Whatever work was going on here, it didn't look particularly enticing. It somehow looked dangerous and the stuff being produced here was lethal in some way. The woman was working hard on this project, her face showing pure concentration as she filled another jar with some strange liquid. She didn't even notice that the Ratcatcher was watching her. That was good for him, it showed she was working away and wasn't going to let anything distract her. The masked man also noticed that, as expected, the woman still had the shackles around her wrists that he'd clamped on her. The chain linking the shackles to the table was long enough to allow the chemist to work, but if she tried to run, she'd be going nowhere. The chain was wrapped around a table leg and padlocked so it would stay there and the table itself had been bolted to the floor, making it impossible to move. The table was also very solidly built so breaking it to get free was out of the question. The masked woman would only leave if he wanted her to, simple as that.

Not wanting to disturb her, The Ratcatcher walked on and left her in peace to finish her work. He really didn't want any delays after her previous failed attempts to replicate what he wanted. He just headed back to his room, the room which only had a desk and a chair, and walked straight over to his seat so he could relax until nightfall. His rats all gathered around him as he sat down with both hands placed on top of his cane. He looked down at his loyal followers as they sat upright and stared at him with beady black eyes and twitching noses.

"You've done well today my brothers and sisters." the crazed rat-lover purred, "Taking vengeance upon that despicable woman for daring to sell some of your own was a victory for you all. And what's best is that you have some more friends to join our nest…"

He beckoned for the rats he'd stolen from the pet shop to come forward. They did so, following his command like obedient dogs. They sat upright as he leaned forward and patted their heads softly.

"You are free my friends." The Ratcatcher cooed delightedly, "Free to mingle with the rest of my family. No longer will you be kept in cages and traded for money. Now you will play a part in our crusade against the true vermin of this world…"

The rats just looked up at him, not able to say anything.

"You may all go back to your nest and rest until night." The Ratcatcher said softly, "We must be prepared for whatever may come."

The swarm of rodents all obeyed and filed out of the room in a flurry of scuttling paws and excited squeaks. To anyone who was afraid of rats, this would be the most horrifying thing to watch, a swarm of rats all moving in unison from one room to the next. As soon as the rats had all left, The Ratcatcher leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh of contentment. What a good day this had been! Killing a pet-shop owner and adding more rats to his "family", what could make this day any better? He still had the trouble of his stupid gang getting themselves caught and arrested after interference from Batman and Batgirl but he would sort that out, come tonight. He would send a rat to spy on the authorities and find out where his gang were being held, be it a prison or a hospital, and then he'd deal with them. He wasn't going to give anyone the chance to spill the beans on him, not when it wasn't time for his plans to come to fruition. For now, he could just take a moment to chill and just swim through his own thoughts. There was one in particular that he loved to reminisce on and he closed his eyes as he thought back to one of the happiest memories of his childhood…

* * *

 _Gotham City, an old household on the outskirts of the city, 30 years ago…_

 _"You can go outside and play dear, but don't spend too long out there! And don't you get yourself all dirty too!"_

 _The five year old boy didn't care what his overly-demanding mother had said. He wanted to go outside and have fun and he was going to do it! Getting dirty was just part of the fun as far as he was concerned. He toddled outside excitedly, laughing as he ran through the garden. He was the kind of child that seemed to carry a lot of energy despite being rather small. He was short for the standards of most five year olds but that didn't seem to slow him down as he ran through the garden, playing merrily on the swings and the slides that the family had in the garden. His blonde hair waved around whenever he ran and every time he smiled, he showed his most distinguishing feature, a buck tooth. His two front teeth were notoriously large for a boy of his size and they stood out quite a bit. Most of the neighbours that saw him jokingly said he looked like a beaver with those teeth. The boy hadn't appreciated that and had once threatened to bite one of the neighbours if she dared call him that again. She'd done so…and now spent her days with a finger missing. Nobody believed the neighbour when she told them what had happened, especially the boy's parents. Who in the world could possibly believe a five year old child could simply bite a person's finger off? Of course, the blonde boy had been delighted to get away with it and had kept the incident to himself ever since._

 _He noticed that that same neighbour was looking at him over the window and grinned smugly at her, showing his buck teeth. The neighbour immediately shrunk back, not wanting to see him after what he'd done. Glad she wasn't there anymore, the boy continued to run around his garden. He loved playing out here due to the garden's large amount of space, all the toys he had to play with outside and the beautiful plants his parents had grown out here. They were keen gardeners and loved growing all sorts of plants, especially roses. They were his mother's favourite and they were his favourite too…though not necessarily for the same reason as his mother's. He jumped on the rose beds and squashed the lush, red flowers flat. Oh how cross that old windbag would be with him! It made him giggle to think how angry she'd be. He hated flowers and loved squashing them whenever he could. How fun it was to flatten those stupid plants with his own two feet! He even made sure plenty of their petals fell off so he could scatter them around. The boy glanced over at his house to see if his mother had noticed what he was doing. It seemed she was otherwise engaged for she hadn't shouted at him to stop trampling on her roses. That was OK, maybe she'd notice later._

 _The energetic little kid jumped off of the rose beds and ran over to play with his football. He picked it up and kicked it around, kicking it anywhere he could. There was a goal net but he didn't bother using it. Everywhere was a place for him to score a goal as far as he was concerned. He even booted the ball into another patch of flowers and flattened them as it landed on top of them. He picked it up and kicked it around again. He then sent it flying over to the garden shed nearby. His eyes went wide with dismay as his ball smashed straight through the window and into the shed with a loud crash. This was not good at all. The boy didn't care when his mother got angry for she was too soft on him and was never any good at punishing him. The father on the other hand was something else to worry about. He was known around the neighbourhood to be violent and ill-tempered and he often suffered the worst of it! If he saw this, he'd beat him black and blue! The poor child thought on what to do, how to avoid getting punished by his dad. Maybe he could blame it on something else! Yes…he knew just what to do now._

 _He ran over to the shed and unbolted it. His father was never much for security so he never bothered to padlock it, even though it was the most sensible thing to do. The bolt was tough and required a lot of fiddling to get it open but he managed it. Now he went inside and was met with the sight of what one normally expects to see in a man's shed. There were toolboxes, gardening tools and bits of machinery such as the lawnmower, a chainsaw and a hedge trimmer. The shed was so cluttered that the child was amazed his dad could even MOVE in here! Why did everything have to be in such a mess? It was a miracle if he could get anything out in this place! He saw just the thing he wanted in the shed, a garden rake standing on end and next to the broken window his football had come through. He grabbed the rake and shifted it over to the window, putting the end with the tooth bar through the broken pane. That way, should anybody see the smashed window, his dad would assume the rake just fell onto it and broke it. The boy gathered up as much broken glass he could find and threw it outside just under the broken window to make the story look more convincing. It would seem awfully suspicious if a rake had fallen and broken the window yet the glass was INSIDE the shed after all. Finally, he grabbed his football and hurried out of the shed and bolted it back up. But just as he did so, something small and furry scurried out onto the garden. He saw it in the corner of his eyes as he closed the door. He turned around and saw the thing that had run out._

 _His eyes widened with interest as he looked at the thing he'd seen rush out of the shed. It was a rat, large and white with a plump body and red eyes. Its nose was twitching inquisitively, taking in the scents of the garden. The boy stood still and watched it nose around in the grass for any food. There was something about the little creature that attracted him to it. He'd never seen anything so cute in his life. Those little round ears, its beady, innocent eyes, its tiny paws and its sensitive little nose...it looked very appealing to him. He wanted to reach out and touch the rat, imagining its fur most feel very soft. He got down on his knees and reached out a hand._

 _"Hello little fella." the boy cooed softly._

 _The rat noticed him and quickly took off, scurrying through the garden and towards the fence to escape from this giant that was trying to touch it. The boy watched it flee and called after it._

 _"No, don't go away! Please come back!" he cried._

 _Then suddenly, impossibly…the rat did just what he told it to! The child gasped as he saw the rat not only stop dead in its tracks, but it turned around and ran back towards him! In its mind, its instincts were telling it to run away but somehow, this boy had overridden its thoughts and compelled it to come to him. The rat sat upright on its hind legs, looking up at the boy with interest. It looked more like a loyal pet obeying its master than a wild animal. The boy smiled to himself as he picked up the rat and stroked it, enjoying the feel of its fur. How had he done it? How had he managed to compel a rat to just come to him like that? Whatever it was, he was glad he could do it. It had led to this lovely moment with him and the rat, just sitting there stroking it as its nose prodded around his shirt. In this single moment, it was like the two had become the best of friends._

 _"You're adorable!" the boy cooed, "Maybe you can be my pet. I'll take good care of you and feed you every day. We could even be best buddies, you and me!"_

 _The rat didn't say anything as the boy began feeling its tail. It wasn't in any position to object to the boy's wishes, not when it seemed to be under his spell. Against its will, it would be his forever and the boy didn't care one bit if the rat wanted to or not…_

* * *

 _Gotham City, just outside Gotham City Hospital, Present Day…_

Night had fallen and The Ratcatcher had found out from his little rat spy that his gang had been taken to the Gotham City Hospital to recover from the grievous injuries they'd received from their battle with Batman and Batgirl. He was heading there now, traversing the entire way on foot. He walked through the streets, ignoring the sounds of distant chatter, passing cars and honking horns as he made his way to the hospital. It was as if the entire world had faded out of existence and he wasn't aware of anything around him, except for his destination. He had his cane with him, carrying it more like a sword than a walking stick. He also had his rat spy sitting on his shoulder, its head glancing around every so often as it took in what was happening.

Very soon, the Ratcatcher came across the Gotham City Hospital, seeing it was just across the road with some busy traffic passing by. It couldn't look more obvious as a hospital if it tried with its fleet of ambulances on standby waiting to roll into action at the first sign of emergency and exterior that seemed to be 90% made of windows. Without looking at his spy, he spoke to it.

"Is this the hospital my gang is in?" he asked.

The rat chirped in response.

"Then pest control can begin my brother…" the Ratcatcher purred darkly.

He strode across the road just as the traffic lights went red to stop any oncoming vehicles. His coat flowed behind him like a flag as he walked. By the time he was finished here tonight, the hospital morgue was going to have a lot of corpses…

* * *

 _ **So that's the Ratcatcher for you. Creepy little shit, isn't he? So now he knows where his gang is being kept, will he get rid of them all before Batgirl can get answers? Will Huntress get to him at all? Is this what will soon bring the Birds of Prey together? All of this and more await next time as the Gotham Rats Gang will be "Ratted Out"...**_


	5. Chapter 5: Ratted Out

_Chapter 5: Ratted Out_

Batgirl was suited up and ready for action once again. The very moment the sun had set on Gotham City, the commissioner's daughter had prepared herself for what may end up becoming a night bigger than what she expected. She only expected to just slip into the hospital and ask Rat King some questions, then leave again and use whatever information she'd received from him to further her research on the mysterious Ratcatcher person but even then, she couldn't be too careful. Experience with Batman had taught the red-haired computer whiz that even a simple mission could suddenly explode into a matter of life and death.

She had everything she needed on her utility belt and had set up communications between herself and Commissioner Gordon so he could remain updated on her mission and whatever findings she would uncover. Batgirl had a comlink in her cowl and it was linked with Gordon's phone. It made Batgirl feel a lot better that despite this night being her first going solo, she still had somebody to rely on for back up and talk to when needed. It made her feel less alone as she went out into the night to investigate the Ratcatcher.

She had swung from rooftop to rooftop, heading towards Gotham City Hospital. Of course Batgirl knew the Gotham Rats gang were all there, Gordon had told her himself. To make things easier for her, she'd also managed to hack into the hospital records with her laptop and find out which floor Rat King was on. It had amused her to see his real name was pretty embarrassing and not that threatening upon finding out. Now she knew which floor he was on and what room he was in, it would make her mission all the simpler. It would be straight in and out again, just as Batgirl wanted. The vigilante swung to another rooftop and landed flat on her feet. She headed to the edge of the building and crouched down on all fours on one of the corners. In case anyone chanced to look up, she'd look like a gargoyle to them from down below. She peered out into the city, searching for the hospital. She could see it was just ahead, not too far from the Iceberg Lounge. Seeing that nightclub made Batgirl wonder if she could go after The Penguin one of these days and maybe even take him down without Batman's help. But of course, first things first. She would deal with him later.

Before moving on, Batgirl pinched the ear of her cowl to activate her comlink. Now was the time to test if the communications between her and Jim Gordon would work.

"Commissioner, do you read me?" she asked.

"Loud and clear Batgirl." came the voice of her father.

Batgirl had insisted that neither of them refer to each other by name or use Gordon's parental status at all as they did this. They both agreed it was risky in case somebody tried listening in or if they tried to hack into Batgirl's signal. If they kept each other anonymous, they would be in the dark who they were.

"I'm quite close to Gotham City Hospital. I'm moving in to see if Rat King's willing to "rat out" his boss." Batgirl explained.

"I've let any of my men working on guard duty in the hospital know that you're going to drop by so none of them takes a shot at you." Gordon explained, "They won't get in your way tonight."

"Thanks commish, I'll let you know what Rat King tells me, if he does." Batgirl replied.

"And for god's sake…please be careful tonight." Gordon added, his voice etched with worry.

Batgirl nodded sympathetically. Of course her dad would be worried. Why wouldn't he? This was her first night without Batman for back-up. She was going solo so she wouldn't be able to rely on him like old times.

"I think a hospital bound criminal isn't gonna do me any harm, not when Batman's practically made sure he won't walk again for months." she said reassuringly.

She let go of her cowl's ear and drew out her grappling gun again. The bat-themed crime-fighter was grateful that despite breaking up from Batman, she still had all the gadgets he'd given him. Unlike her former idol, she'd be putting them to better use tonight. Batgirl fired the gun, a cable shooting out and attaching itself to the corner of another building and she swung off, her black and purple cape flowing behind her. As she swung off, she was totally unaware that she'd been spotted. Batgirl wasn't the only vigilante out tonight. A cloaked figure carrying a crossbow was on a building close to her and she'd seen Batgirl swinging off towards the hospital. Her sharp eyes followed the vigilante as she hurled herself through the air towards another building, gradually making her way closer and closer to the GCH. That caught her interest and made her curious to find out more.

"Is that Batman?" Huntress murmured aloud, "I wonder where he's going tonight. Maybe he knows something about this "Ratcatcher"…"

She aimed her crossbow and fired a grappling hook of her own. Huntress's crossbow had more uses to her than just firing arrows and bolts. It was her way of travelling around quickly if necessary. She was whisked through the air as the grappling cable retracted, pulling her towards the next building. Tonight was going to be interesting, that much she knew. She never thought she'd end up on a mission tonight and potentially coming across Batman…

* * *

Over at the hospital, one of the guards on duty headed outside to take a quick cigarette break. He was bored and wanted a moment of fresh air and just to have the taste of tobacco in his mouth before resuming work. He didn't see the point in keeping watch over a bunch of hospital-bound criminals and wished that he had been put on a different work shift instead of this one. How much more fun would it be if he could've been out on the streets chasing criminals instead of roaming back and forth through bland hospital corridors poking in on the patients every-so-often? He stood by the doors and lit his cigarette, the tip glowing brightly as he brought it to his lips.

After the Gotham Rats Gang had been arrested, the injured members had all been brought to the GCH to recover from the brutal injuries they'd sustained from their fight with Batman and Batgirl. Despite being hospital bound, they were still dangerous people and Commissioner Gordon knew it would be foolish to leave them unguarded in the risk they could try and hurt any of the staff in an attempt to escape or use them as hostage bait. So he'd employed a team of officers to watch over the patients and make sure they couldn't try anything stupid. They'd also been placed here for contingency reasons. Gordon suspected that whoever they worked for could try to rescue them before they could go to jail or even kill them to stop them spilling any sensitive information. He'd seen enough of this to prepare for such an eventuality, remembering how many times the late Commissioner Loeb had killed prisoners in their cells to shut them up and keep them from telling anyone about Carmine Falcone before the infamous Big Three had been dethroned by Gotham's current criminals. Thus, he wanted to make sure that it couldn't happen now, not when the Gotham Rats Gang had information that could prove useful to the GCPD.

The guard blew on his cigarette, clouds of smoke trailing around his head as the wind blew. As bored as he was, he had to admit that he was interested with these criminals. Who did they work for and what information could they hold that'd be of use to the cops? Knowing how Gotham had all sorts of crazy criminals from clay monsters to homicidal maniacs dressed like clowns to a scarecrow and even a crocodile-man, their boss was some sort of rat-man-monster-thing! That made the guard smile, liking the idea of getting to kill something like that.

"Wonder if killing a giant rat-man would get me a promotion?" he mused to himself, blowing more smoke out from his cigarette.

He'd heard of the colourful and crazy criminals Batman had brought down. Two-Face, The Penguin, The Riddler, Harley Quinn, The Joker and so much more. He liked the idea of getting to take down a criminal as unusual as these guys. Maybe tonight would be his chance and he could show Gotham that Batman wasn't always needed to take down freaky crooks like those held in Arkham Asylum!

He was about to puff on his cigarette again but all hopes and dreams of taking down a criminal as big as The Joker and getting promoted suddenly died before he could realize what was happening. It was like his cigarette he'd been using, gone in a puff of smoke. The last thing he heard was some kind of sound, something like a laser blast, and then he collapsed dead on the ground with a hole punched right through his chest. He stared up at the sky with dead, wide-open eyes as if wondering if the stars could tell him what had happened. Blood seeped from his chest wound and his cigarette lay beside him, still smoking.

The Ratcatcher strode onto the scene, lowering his cane which had fired the shot he'd just killed the guard with. He glanced down at his victim through the glass lenses of his mask, deeply satisfied with his kill and how much damage he'd done. He could even see wisps of steam drifting up from where the guard had been shot. Now he was out of the way, he walked straight into the hospital, his bizarre appearance immediately drawing attention from the nurses and doctors. It was strange to see a man dressed like this just walk into a hospital. Then again, they supposed he deserved to be here. He clearly wasn't mentally well if he thought looking like a plague doctor was OK! One of the doctors approached him, trying to keep his face blank.

"Um sir, I'm afraid you can't come in here with that costume on." he said, "This is a hospital, not a costume party…"

He didn't get any further as The Ratcatcher suddenly shot him with his cane, the long, black stick coughing out a single energy blast that blew him off his feet and into the wall behind him, splattering blood everywhere from the hole that had been punched through his chest by the blast. The medical staff all screamed and scurried away save for the woman behind the desk who was too scared to move away from her computer. The Ratcatcher was pointing the cane at her, threatening to shoot if she so much as sneezed without permission. The poor woman couldn't move without being shot. She had no choice but to stay where she was.

"P-please…d-don't shoot!" she whimpered, "I'll d-do whatever you want!"

"I would like the room numbers of all members of the Gotham Rats Gang." The Ratcatcher demanded, "I know you're keeping them all in here, so I would like to know where they are."

"G-Gotham R-Rats Gang?" the woman asked, puzzled, "I'm s-sorry sir, I d-don't know what you…"

"DON'T lie to me!" The Ratcatcher snarled, banging the cane on the desk furiously, "I know my gang is here! I have eyes where you could never imagine them being! You will give me the room numbers of every member of the Gotham Rats Gang, or else you'll end up like your colleague down there…"

He motioned to the dead doctor who was still bleeding profusely on the floor as if expecting him to back up his claims. The woman shook furiously.

"You're m-making a m-mistake!" she stammered, "This p-place is c-crawling with guards!"

"I am losing my patience…" The Ratcatcher growled, tightening his grip around the cane's head, "Don't make me count to three."

"Y-you'll n-never get to a-any of them!"

"One…"

"Please, listen to me! You'll n-never g-get p-past the guards!"

"Two…"

"NO! No, no, please, no! I'll do it, I'll give you the room numbers!"

The woman quickly tapped away on the keyboard, sweat beading down her forehead. The Ratcatcher stood where he was, still pointing the cane at her. He waited patiently for the woman to finish what she was doing before finally, she got up all the numbers of the rooms his gang members were held in.

"I've got them all. I'll print them off for you if it makes things easier!" she exclaimed.

The masked man nodded, confirming that was what he wanted. In a matter of minutes, the woman printed off all the room numbers, giving him a list of which rooms to go to. It would certainly be more convenient than trying to memorize all the numbers. She handed him the list, her hands trembling furiously. The Ratcatcher took it and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Thank you for your service." he sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The woman didn't even get time to react as he shot her dead with his cane. The laser blast he'd fired was so powerful that it had obliterated her whole head. Splatters of blood and chunks of her brain painted the wall behind her and the headless body slumped and fell sideways out of her chair and onto the floor. The Ratcatcher lowered his cane and strode off down the corridor, his coat flapping behind him. His rat spy was sitting on his shoulder still and had witnessed everything. Its tiny black eyes were keeping watch to make sure nobody tried to attack its master. Rats had better hearing than humans did so it could also listen out for danger and allow the Ratcatcher to prepare for action. It squeaked out a warning, its ears picking up the sounds of pounding feet in the corridor ahead. The guards had clearly been alerted to what was happening and were now getting into action. That didn't faze The Ratcatcher at all. The master of rats had a few extra tricks hidden in his coat to deal with them.

He reached into the inside pocket of his coat and took out a small, cylindrical object that looked like a small bomb of some kind. It was a bomb, but not the kind the guards would expect. He pressed a button to switch it on and tossed it down the hallway. The guards ran in on the scene, not noticing the object and turned a corner to see the intruder they were now having to deal with. None of them even bothered to question his choice of clothes and why he looked the way he did. They just pointed their guns at the man in the beaked mask and long coat.

"Surrender yourself now!" barked one of the guards, "Hands behind your head and get down on your knees!"

The bomb went off, clouding the guards with a sickly, yellowy mist that filled the entire corridor. The bomb was in-fact, carrying mustard gas, a sick weapon that had been developed during World War I by the Germans to combat their enemies. Invented by Doctor Poison under the employment of General Ludendorff at the time, mustard gas was an effective killing tool that created blisters on the skin and in the lungs and was so deadly that even gas masks at the time couldn't protect people from it. Of course, The Ratcatcher's own mask was up to modern standards so it wouldn't affect him in the slightest. The guards weren't as fortunate. They couldn't save themselves from the gas as it entered their lungs and they were left struggling for air, crying in agony. The Ratcatcher just stood and watched, enjoying the sight of these pitiful men struggling and dying on the floor in front of him. He carried on down the corridor, leaving the men to die from the mustard gas bombs. Now he could make a start to killing his gang to keep any of their secrets about him from getting out to the cops and no guard on duty would be a match for him…

* * *

Rat King was lying alone in his hospital bed, the only sound that could be heard coming from the heartbeat monitor that he was rigged up to. He had been sedated for the damage done to his thighs by Batman had been so severe that he needed surgery to fix it, plus he'd need a lot of blood to make up for how much he'd lost back in the hideout so he'd been given some. He'd spent all of last night and the whole of today like this; completely unaware of what was happening around him. Underneath his bedsheets, his thighs were bandaged up so the grievous wounds couldn't be seen. He laid still, the sedation not yet worn off. His chest slowly raised and lowered with his breathing. Because he was still in sedation, he never noticed a shadowy figure come to the window and let itself in by using a Batarang to cut through the glass. A dark shadow seemed to slide through the hole in the window it had cut and creep by his bedside.

Batgirl observed him grimly, noticing Rat King was still unconscious. She couldn't afford to waste time waiting for him to wake up. As far as she knew, he could be out for hours and might not even wake up until the next day. Luckily for her, she'd come prepared. As a contingency, every member of the Bat-Family carried a stimulant so that if they were ever knocked out on duty, another member could use the stimulant to wake them up again. It had been her idea at the time and Batman had made sure that he and anyone else by his side carried one for it would save time they would waste waiting for the incapacitated vigilante to wake up again. Batgirl took out the syringe that carried the stimulant from her belt and jabbed it into Rat King's arm. Almost immediately after she'd injected him, the gang leader twitched and his eyes fluttered open. The heartbeat monitor jumped as it registered an increase in his pulse now he was awake. Rat King gasped as he came back into consciousness, looking around wildly. He had been briefly come back into consciousness when arriving at the hospital but had been sedated shortly after so he hadn't had much time to register where he was.

"Oh god, what's happening?! Where am I?!" the skin-headed man cried frantically, "Argh! Son of a bitch, that Batman…" he muttered, wincing as he felt his legs ache from the surgery, "When I get outta here, I'm gonna…"

He was quickly silenced as Batgirl placed a glove finger over his lips, glaring at him with cold eyes. Rat King stared up at her in amazement, unable to believe that he was seeing her again so soon after the fight in his hideout.

"Mmmhat mmmhe…?" he mumbled.

"Keep your voice down. I'd rather nobody hears about this." Batgirl hissed, "You remember me, right? I'm the one that stopped Batman from killing you last night."

She took her finger away from the man's mouth so he could speak. His eyes narrowed angrily at her. The heartbeat monitor quickened its pace as anger began to overcome him.

"Ah yes, I remember…you're that broad who started the whole fight at my hideout!" he growled, "It's your damn fault I'm in here! I'll bet it's because of you that Batman found us and put me in this mess! Well I'm so gonna rip you a new one you little…"

Batgirl clasped a hand around his mouth, forcing his head back down against the pillows.

"Do you want me to knock you out again?" she snarled, her face a mask of quiet fury.

Rat King shook his head.

"Then I suggest you shut the hell up and do as I said, Keep. Your. Voice. Down!"

Rat King didn't really want to comply but he didn't much fancy being knocked unconscious again. He hated it when he couldn't see what was going on and being helpless as people could do whatever they wanted to him and he'd never know about it. Maybe if he played along, he could still make Batgirl pay for what she'd done, maybe stick a scalpel in her eye or something if there was one around. Batgirl took her hand away from his mouth.

"So what do you want, doll-face?" Rat King sneered, "I doubt you came here to give me a "Get Better Soon" card."

"Nope, nothing so kind." Batgirl confirmed, "I'm investigating that name you shouted out to me and Batman last night and you're gonna tell me everything you know about him. So you can start off by telling me who is this "Ratcatcher" person you work for, and please don't waste my time by refusing to answer. I'd rather get to your boss before Batman tries to kill him too."

Rat King suddenly changed from angry and defiant to nervous and jittery. He shook in his bed, the heartbeat monitor bleeping more furiously as if to emphasize his terror.

"Oh god, I told you his name! A rat never rats out another rat!" he yelped, "I shouldn't have told you his name! He hates it when he gets ratted out, see? He'll be coming to kill me no doubt! Oh god, why did I tell you his name?!"

"Ssshhh, ssshhh, don't panic. The commissioner has this place swarming with guards." Batgirl said reassuringly, "Your boss will never get to you."

"You think a bunch of fat pigs in their uniforms will stop him?!" Rat King screamed, "The Ratcatcher's a right vicious son of a bitch, see?! He don't let nothing get in his way, see?! He has a weapon that can blow your whole head off in one shot! And if that ain't enough, he seems to have this weird, magical voodoo power to control rats! He can make them do whatever he wants, see? He could have a swarm of rats crawling all over them guards before they can whip their guns out!"

Batgirl took this all in with interest. So the Ratcatcher could control rats, could he? That would explain what happened to Mrs. Milligan earlier today and why the Flannegans looked like they'd been killed by rats. Rat King had given away more than he'd intended in his panicked state. But what sort of weapon did he have that was as powerful as he'd described?

"If you're THAT concerned he'll kill you, then maybe you should stop wasting time and answer my question." the red-haired heroine insisted, "If you tell me all you know about the Ratcatcher, I'll bring him down before he even gets to you. I can keep you safe from him."

"No you can't! You won't survive five minutes against that bastard!" Rat King whimpered.

"I survived longer than that against you guys, and you had guns and outnumbered me ten-to-one." Batgirl retorted, "Now please, tell me, who is the Ratcatcher and what do you know about him?"

The patient was about to answer Batgirl's questions but something seemed to catch his attention. He turned his head for something had appeared in the corner of his eye and he looked to see what it was. His eyes went wide with horror and his mouth formed a perfect O as his worst nightmare stood in the doorway of his room. His face seemed to go completely white.

"He's…here!" he gasped hoarsely.

The bat-vigilante turned around quickly and found herself, at long last, face-to-face with the man she'd been investigating. The Ratcatcher had come to catch the very rat she'd been questioning. She took in his appearance with a mixture of confusion and disgust, wondering why anybody would want to look like something from the medieval times. And yet, compared to the villains she'd been up against with Batman, this guy looked pretty normal in comparison. Her eyes were fixed on the cane that he was pointing at her. What did he think he was going to do, poke her to death with it? Batgirl stepped away from Rat King's bed and raised both her fists, dropping down into a battle-ready stance with both feet apart and centre of gravity balanced.

"So I assume you're the Ratcatcher?" she demanded, "Gotta say, your costume's a bit on the nose. Couldn't make the rat theme any MORE obvious, could you?"

The Ratcatcher said nothing. He just squeezed on the cane head and fired a blast of energy straight towards her. Batgirl cried out in horror and threw herself to one side to try and dodge the shot. How had she NOT seen that coming?! The Penguin's trick umbrellas should've at least made her suspect this man's cane had some surprises too! The shot hit the floor where Batgirl had been standing moments ago, tearing up a chunk of it. The shockwave that resulted from the blast punched into Batgirl, sending her flying out of the window she'd climbed into, breaking what remained of it and sending shards of glass falling to the ground. She hadn't quite been fast enough so the force of the shot had been enough to do that. She screamed as she plummeted down to the ground outside. The Ratcatcher immediately forgot about her, assuming she was done for, and turned his attention back to the bed-bound Rat King, who lay still and shook furiously. His eyes were streaming with tears of fright as his boss raised the cane and pointed it at his head. There was no mercy in the man's eyes, masked by the glass lenses of his mask.

"No, no! Please boss, I didn't tell her nothing, I swear!" Rat King blubbered frantically, hoping he could still save his own skin, "I didn't rat you out, honest I didn't! I haven't betrayed you, I would never do that! Please, you must believe me boss! I swear I didn't…"

His pleas were swiftly silenced as the Ratcatcher shot him dead in his bed, firing a single shot at his head with no second thoughts and no remorse for his actions. Rat King's headless body lay on the bed, blood staining the pillows and the walls beside him. Chunks of his brain had splattered all over the room. The heartbeat monitor flat lined, making only a single, continuous beep as there was no heartbeat left to pick up. The Ratcatcher lowered the cane, pleased that he'd now silenced his entire gang. He didn't care that he'd had to kill them all. They were disposable to him and he'd already planned to get rid of the Gotham Rats when he carried out his plans. How easily they'd believed his lies that they'd be protected from what he was going to unleash! They should be thankful he'd given them a more merciful death than what he'd originally planned. He turned to leave, keen to get out of the hospital before things got too much for him to handle. More police would arrive and not even he would be able to handle them all. If he got away now, he could slip away and disappear into the shadows of the city to hide away until it was necessary for him to come out again.

But then, much to the Ratcatcher's surprise, he felt something embed itself into the back of his shoulder, causing him to scream in pain. He grabbed it and tore it out, ignoring the pain in his shoulder and the blood that was oozing out of his wound. It was a Batarang, one edge stained with his blood from when it had hit him. He turned around and saw Batgirl climbing back into the room, tucking away the grappling gun she'd used to save herself as she stood up and adopted a battle-ready stance once again.

"You seriously think knocking me out a window would stop me?" she gloated, "Batman taught me well on many things, including how to survive plummeting to your death!"

The Ratcatcher just pointed the cane at her again, preparing to shoot her dead. Unfortunately for him, he'd been hit in the right shoulder, so holding his cane up was harder than before since as he did so, he could feel the pain in his wounded shoulder flaring up so he wasn't able to aim accurately. He fired a shot, which went wild and punched a hole through one of the walls and he winced as the recoil of his cane caused his shoulder wound to throb even more. Batgirl took advantage of this and charged into him, ramming him in the stomach and slamming him against the wall. The blow winded her opponent and caused him to drop his cane. Seizing her chance, Batgirl picked it up and swung it at the Ratcatcher, walloping him across the face and sending him careening sideways into a wall. He hit it with a loud thump and dropped down onto the floor, his head spinning from the attack. His mask had saved him from the worst of the blow so he'd managed to avoid falling unconscious, but he'd still felt it and was trying to shake off the dizziness that was coming over him. Batgirl approached him, still holding his cane. One more blow to the head would subdue him and she could get her father to arrest him. Hopefully Arkham Asylum still had some room for a nutjob like him. She imagined he'd fit right into that hellhole.

But just as she tried to club him around the head with his cane again, the Ratcatcher's rat spy leapt off of its master's shoulder and threw itself at the vigilante. Batgirl was more surprised than anything but she staggered back as the rat clambered onto her face and started clawing and biting her. She dropped the cane as the rat attacked her. The rat bit down hard, but Batgirl's cowl kept its teeth from penetrating her skin. Only her mouth and lower face were exposed so it couldn't keep the rat from scratching her cheeks and lips. It then tried to claw her eyes out, scratching at her closed eyelids to try and blind her. Batgirl grabbed the rat and threw it across the room into a wall, the impact killing the tiny creature as it hit the wall and fell down onto the floor heavily. She clutched her face, which was stinging from the scratches and bites the rat had given her. She'd had worse than this before, the red-haired heroine wasn't going to let a few measly scratches stop her. She turned back to the Ratcatcher, who had picked himself up and now had his cane back in his hands. She reacted just in time to raise her arms in an X shape and block the Ratcatcher as he swung the cane down towards her head. The masked man drew his cane back and butted her in the stomach with it, making her stumble back. Then he raised his foot and kicked out hard, throwing his opponent down onto the floor and into a wall. Batgirl grunted but she quickly got back to her feet and pivoted around on one feet, roundhouse kicking her opponent across the face before he could land another blow on her. The Ratcatcher reeled to one side but he recovered surprisingly quickly and swung his cane at Batgirl once more, landing a powerful blow on the side of her head and knocking her down onto the floor.

Batgirl was left stunned on the floor for a moment, her head spinning from the attack. Whoever this Ratcatcher person was, he sure knew how to swing his cane! He was much stronger than he initially looked, something she was annoyed with herself over. Hadn't Batman taught her never to underestimate her opponents? Many people who look weak and unassuming turn out to be really capable in a fight and she'd had many of those examples in the past. Now she knew what she was up against, she wouldn't underestimate the Ratcatcher anymore. She staggered to her feet, the bat-vigilante clutching her head as it continued to throb from the blow she'd received. The Ratcatcher swung it at her again, hoping to knock her down once more so he could then finish her off. Batgirl recovered with a split-second to spare and dropped down, feeling the cane sweep over her head as it missed. She clasped both hands together and swung them up into her opponent's chin, grunting as her gloved hands hit metal. The mask received no damage but the blow had been enough to send the costumed man staggering backwards, putting a hand over his face as if he couldn't believe Batgirl had just hit him. He retaliated with a punch to the mouth on Batgirl but she took it and elbowed him back, making sure not to hit him in the face again as the mask would just hurt her. She instead hit him in the sternum, but not too hard as a blow to the chest that was too much could be fatal. It was enough to wind the Ratcatcher for the moment, leaving him spluttering and coughing. Batgirl took advantage of this and pounded both hands on either side of his head. She hoped that enough blows to the head would finally knock him out and end all this but unfortunately for her, The Ratcatcher seemed unwilling to go down that easily. He grabbed hold of her wrist just as she tried to punch him again and he held her back. Batgirl struggled, feeling the true strength of the man as he seemed to effortlessly keep her hand away from him.

Batgirl tried to punch her foe with her other hand but the Ratcatcher caught it and held it back just like her other hand. The two costumed fighters pushed against each other, grunting and straining as they put all their strength into this grapple. Batgirl pushed while the Ratcatcher held her back, refusing to budge while he had hold of his opponent. The wound in his shoulder was starting to throb again and Batgirl noticed it was having an effect on him for his right arm was weakening slightly. She kept up the struggle, intending for Ratcatcher to eventually wear his arm out by pushing too much and causing his shoulder wound to hurt too much. Unfortunately for her, he'd realized that he couldn't keep this up forever and thus, he swung his head forward with the intention of skewering her in the face with the beak on his mask. Batgirl reacted with just seconds to spare, grimacing as the mask's beak sliced past the side of her neck, penetrating the material of her costume and drawing a line across the skin. The crime fighter cried out and clutched her neck in pain, allowing the Ratcatcher to clasp both hands together and wallop her in the face with both fists. The blow sent his foe reeling aside and Batgirl hit the wall heavily, slumping down onto the floor and trying to fight off the looming threat of unconsciousness as black dots danced in front of her vision. Just her luck to come across an opponent who can pack a mean punch, and all by herself no less! If Batman had been here, the fight would've ended already! Batgirl forced herself onto her feet, gasping as the Ratcatcher pointed his cane at her again. This time, he held it with both arms so that the recoil wouldn't end up causing him pain in his shoulder wound. As far as Batgirl was concerned, he may as well be holding a rifle rather than a cane. Acting quickly, she drew out a Batarang and tossed it into the Ratcatcher's face, the sharp weapon ricocheting off of his mask and leaving a scratch between the eyes. The hit had been enough to make the Ratcatcher cry out and stagger backwards, allowing Batgirl ample time to stand up straight and charge into him with her head down low and her shoulders hunched.

She slammed into his solar plexus, knocking him straight down onto the floor. He slid across it and came to a stop just by the door. Batgirl ran towards him, hoping to pummel him into submission before he could get up again. But the Ratcatcher reacted first, swinging the door open just at the right time so it hit Batgirl and knocked her down onto her side. Batgirl groaned in pain, clutching her head from where the door had hit her. At least the cowl had protected her from the worst of the hit, she could've received worse damage from that door. The Ratcatcher picked himself up, his cane in both hands and he raised it above his head, intending to club Batgirl to death with it. But then, just as it seemed death was coming for the heroine…the Ratcatcher threw down his cane as if he had changed his mind about killing her. Batgirl looked up in confusion, wondering what was happening. Her ears winced as a blood-curdling scream came from the masked man and she quickly saw why that was. Out of nowhere, somebody had shot an arrow into his arm. It was embedded deeply in there, the tip and end sticking out of his upper arm and blood snaking down his lower arm and hand, staining his sleeve. Batgirl turned to the broken window, reasoning that the mystery shooter had obviously shot him through there. But where had the shot come from? She saw a quick flash of silver and screamed in surprise as another arrow came out of nowhere, whizzing past her in a blurr and hitting the Ratcatcher in the face. Luckily for him, the arrow just ricocheted off his mask. He stumbled against the wall, still clutching his wounded arm. Batgirl charged over to the window, hoping to see where the arrows were coming from. Who was doing this and why? She knew for a fact this mysterious assassin wasn't on her side, the shots were aiming to kill the Ratcatcher, not incapacitate him. The shooter might even have been aiming for her for all she knew! Looking out into the streets of Gotham, she saw a glint of silver coming from one of the rooftops, a speck of moonlight reflected on a shiny surface. Was that where the shooter was?

Batgirl looked over at the Ratcatcher, noticing her was still in agony and clutching his arm. She would have to come back for him later, this maniac with the arrows had to be taken down and fast before she could shoot at her or the Ratcatcher again. With any luck, Commissioner Gordon could come in and arrest the Ratcatcher while she took down this assailant. She could already hear police cars approaching the hospital to deal with the intrusion that had occurred tonight. It was settled, the cops would deal with the Ratcatcher while she took out this other killer. The bat-vigilante took out her grappling gun and fired, swinging towards the glint of silver she'd seen on the nearby building. She was whisked away from the hospital room and towards the shooter. As soon as she landed on the building, the shooter had turned and fled, leaping towards another rooftop nearby. Batgirl saw it just in time and ran after it, determined not to let it get away. She could make out that the figure was wearing a cape and seemed to have long hair. Was it a woman or just a guy with long hair? She pursued, determined to catch her. As she ran, Batgirl pinched the ear on her cowl to give an update to Jim Gordon.

"Commissioner, this is Batgirl!" she cried, "The Ratcatcher's at the GCH on the 13th floor! He's just killed Rat King and all the guards on duty, but he's been wounded by somebody shooting arrows! You might be in time to arrest him!"

"Copy that Batgirl, I was on my way after the alarm was raised minutes ago." Gordon replied, "Where are you now?"

"Chasing the one who shot him!" Batgirl replied, "I don't think he or she intended to just wound him! This person might even have been trying to shoot ME instead and just hit him by accident, or maybe it was trying to kill both of us! We might be able to make it a double-arrest tonight if I catch that person!"

"I'll deal with Ratcatcher then, you just catch that maniac." Gordon said, "And watch yourself out there!"

Batgirl nodded and let go of her cowl's ear. Her keen eyes caught sight of the cloaked figure firing a cable onto another building and swinging towards it. She did the same, chasing after her as the figure landed onto another building. It ran on again but Batgirl threw a Batarang at the shooter's ankles, hitting them and causing the figure to fall over. It stood up again and turned around, pointing what appeared to be a crossbow at Batgirl. Batgirl stayed where she was, being careful not to provoke the shooter. If she could buy herself time and not give him or her any reason to shoot, she'd be OK. The figure was shrouded in darkness so Batgirl couldn't see its face. All she could make out was a cloak, a crossbow, some kind of mask and long hair. She wanted to get closer but she didn't dare move in case the figure shot.

"Stay where you are. I don't want to harm you. You're not who I was targeting." the figure said.

Batgirl registered immediately from the voice that it was a woman. The voice was deeper than most women she'd heard and sounded menacing, yet she couldn't help but feel it sounded a little familiar…

"Funny, coming from some lunatic who's pointing a crossbow at me right now." the redhead sneered.

"I want to make it clear to you that I will shoot if you force me to." the figure replied, "You made a big mistake chasing after me instead of finishing off that man in the plague doctor's costume. He's the one you should be after!"

"The commissioner's dealing with him right now so you and I have all the time we need for you to explain yourself." Batgirl muttered, "Why were you shooting at me and the Ratcatcher? Were you intending to kill us?"

"Only him, I wasn't aiming at you." the cloaked woman explained, "Judging by your costume, I assumed you were Batman. I have nothing but respect for that man with all the good he's done for Gotham…even if he never had the strength to put these scum down for good. So who are you then, his little sister or something?"

"Very funny." Batgirl snorted, "I appreciate you trying to help me take down the Ratcatcher, but unlike you, I wasn't trying to kill him. I follow Batman's moral codes, when he used to have any…" she spat, "So like him, I don't kill. You were trying to kill him though so like it or not, you're gonna be sharing a ride to prison with him!"

"You're not getting me anywhere near a prison cell, Bat-chick!" the figure snarled, the crossbow quivering, "Gotham needs me as much as it needs Batman. He clears the streets of criminals, I make sure they never commit another crime again! You try to arrest me and you'll be doing the criminals a favour!"

"I don't care what bullshit philosophy you follow, murder is STILL murder, no matter how bad the person is!" the costumed crimefighter retorted, "You can't just go around shooting people dead because they're criminals, that makes you no better than them and ruins any chances these criminals have of being rehabilitated! Even scum can change for the better!"

"You really believe in that horseshit, sister?" the woman scoffed, her tone sounding like she was mocking Batgirl for the very idea she did so, "These people don't change, and if they do, it doesn't take long for them to resort back to their old ways. I put them down so that they can never harm anyone again. If you're gonna get in my way, then I'll have to put YOU down too!"

"Try me!" Batgirl dared, "I was trained by Batman himself! Think you can handle that?"

The figure said nothing, instead choosing to fish something out of her cloak pocket and toss it to Batgirl. Batgirl reacted, instincts telling her that it was a bomb and to get out of the way, fast. But it wasn't the kind of bomb that exploded. Instead, it was a smoke-bomb. A huge curtain of smoke punched its way out of the casing and clouded Batgirl, obscuring her vision and making her cough. All she could hear was the woman's voice giving her some parting words.

"I'm only sparing your life because you're not associated with **them**. Next time we meet, don't get in my way. I would hate to have to consider you one of them too…"

Batgirl spluttered, waving her hand in front of her face to get rid of the smoke. After a minute or two, it drifted away and the vigilante could see again. Batgirl looked around, her sharp, blue eyes sweeping over the area quickly. To her dismay, the cloaked woman had vanished. She'd clearly slipped away while she was blanketed by smoke. Batgirl cursed loudly and turned to head back to the hospital. There was no point trying to find the shooter now, not when she would be miles away at this point. She'd have to deal with her another night.

"Got away…I hope dad's having better luck with the Ratcatcher." she muttered, taking out her grappling gun and firing it at another building.

* * *

"He's gone?!"

"I'm afraid so Batgirl. We came into Rat King's room to arrest him and there was nobody there. The only thing we could find was a trail of blood that's presumably his. We'll have to analyse it later as it could narrow down who he is."

Batgirl had returned to the hospital to some bad news. She'd managed to get a moment away from the bustle with Gordon and he'd filled her in on what had happened. Somehow, against all odds, the Ratcatcher had slipped away before the police could get him. Even his wounded arm hadn't hindered his escape like she'd thought it would. It had annoyed her greatly that it had been a double failure tonight, losing the Ratcatcher and the mystery woman that shot him. It seemed as if fate itself was determined to screw her over as much as possible this very night with nothing going right for her.

"I'm such an idiot…I shouldn't have left him!" Batgirl cried, punching the wall in frustration, "He got away because I left him behind to chase some maniac with a crossbow! Why didn't I stay with him so I could make sure he couldn't get away?!"

"You weren't to know that woman wasn't trying to shoot you Batgirl." Gordon reassured, "You're not an idiot. I think I would've done the same thing if I wasn't sure if somebody was trying to shoot the criminal or me. Besides, you did the right thing in preventing her from killing the Ratcatcher. You're proving to Gotham that Batman's morals still take precedent, even if the man himself has lost his way."

The red-haired heroine supposed that her father had a point. She had set up her solo career with the main intention of proving to Gotham that the Bat Symbol still stood for what it stood for and that it hadn't been perverted by Batman's more violent and questionable antis lately. At least she was off to a good start proving that point.

"I suppose that's one silver lining…" she murmured, "That and the Ratcatcher leaving his blood behind so we can hopefully do a DNA test and find out who he is."

"As you know, these things takes time so you'll have to wait until the results come through." Gordon noted, "If you were still with Batman, you could just take the blood to the Batcave and have it scanned immediately."

"That's one downside to going solo from him." Batgirl sighed, "Still, I'd rather not give it to him so he can beat Ratcatcher half-to-death. I'll leave it to the GCPD for once."

"Glad you think so." the commissioner said brightly, "So, were you actually able to find out anything about this Ratcatcher before Rat King was killed?"

"All he told me was that he can control rats." Batgirl explained, "So that answers what happened to Mrs. Milligan at the Gotham Pets store and why all the rats in that store are gone. He even got a rat to attack me." she added, pointing to the scratches on her cheeks and mouth she'd received from the rat.

"You should see to those." Gordon said wearily, "Rats are full of all kinds of diseases unless they're domesticated. We wouldn't want those getting infected."

"I will do commissioner." the costumed girl insisted, "Anyway, the Ratcatcher dresses like a medieval plague doctor, complete with beaked mask, wide-brimmed hat and long coat. You REALLY can't miss him. He also carries a cane that can shoot energy blasts powerful enough to take people's heads off. That's what happened to Rat King. He also knows how to swing it too!" she added, massaging the bruises that had formed on her head from when he'd hit her.

Jim fell into a moment of thought as he took this in. The part about the Ratcatcher's cane sounded familiar to him.

"A cane that shoots energy blasts…" he mused, "That might answer another case that's been unsolved."

"Come again?"

"My forces and the police of Central City were investigating a crime that had happened at S.T.A.R. labs a few months back. They said an experimental spy gadget had been stolen. Said gadget was a cane that could shoot, a weapon in disguise for secret agents to take with them so they had a way of defending themselves while also avoiding suspicion from enemy forces. I know, it sounds a bit James Bond, but that's what it was."

"And S.T.A.R. labs seriously made a cane that could shoot powerful enough to blow people's heads off…OK…"

It disturbed Batgirl to think that S.T.A.R. labs would be this extreme. Then again, in the world of espionage, she supposed a bit of overkill was necessary, especially when dealing with all sorts of evil forces that would kill you in horrible, gruesome ways if they found out you were a spy.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that very cane is the weapon the Ratcatcher has." Gordon added, "S.T.A.R. labs will be very happy to get it back from him. When we arrest him, we'll be able to deliver it back to them."

"And hopefully, they'll be more careful in making sure valuable items like that don't get stolen." Batgirl muttered.

"What do you know about the woman who shot him?" Gordon asked, "Did you find out anything about her other than her gender?"

"She seems to be in a costume, mask and cape and everything, and she wields a crossbow." the commissioner's daughter explained, "That's how she shot the Ratcatcher. She also has a seething hatred of criminals. She's the kind of whack-bag who thinks they should all die instead of be incarcerated. She was clearly trying to kill Ratcatcher until I chased after her. She spared me because I'm not "one of them", though she's not above threatening me so her morals are still pretty eschewed I'd say."

"Sounds like one of those people who has a screwed-up idea on what justice is…" Gordon murmured grimly, "I really hope you don't come across her again, but if you do, don't hesitate to bring her in."

"You got it. She won't get away from me that easily if I meet her a second time." Batgirl declared.

She turned away and headed off into the night with a quick fire of her grappling gun, swinging up into the air and across the rooftops of Gotham City. Gordon watched her go, knowing that this would be the last time he'd see her in costume tonight. There was nothing left for his daughter to do now so why stick around? He couldn't just go home himself unfortunately. He knew his night was far from over as he turned back to the police force that was still handling the dead bodies and sweeping the area for clues as to who this killer could be. The Ratcatcher had escaped for now, and Gordon had a feeling he was going to strike again very, very soon…

* * *

 _ **So Batgirl's had her first taste of the Ratcatcher, and it hasn't exactly gone well. Neither has her first meeting with Huntress. But this is far from the last time she'll be seeing either of them.**_

 _ **So will she catch the Ratcatcher? Will he carry out whatever plan he has before she can get to him? Will she run into Huntress again? How will Black Canary fit into all this? Tune in next time as the Ratcatcher sheds some light on his devious plot in "Yersinia Pestis"...**_


	6. Chapter 6: Yersinia Pestis

_Chapter 6: Yersinia Pestis_

"Everything ready?"

"Ready to rock!"

"Just waiting for your cue, Di!"

"Alright. One, two, three, four!"

The music began to play as the Black Canary band launched into another rehearsal for their next album. As they had scheduled, the first song they were going to record was Fish Out Of Water, which was going to be the first track on the album, EP-1. The band had spent much of the previous day setting up equipment and tuning their instruments before carrying out their first rehearsal. It hadn't gone too well, the band still trying to get in tune with the music and Dinah herself was a little out of practice having not sung in a while. They'd had a second rehearsal and that had gone a little better, though still in need of some tweaking to make it perfect. Now they were rehearsing one last time after a good night's sleep to make sure they'd got it right and were ready to record.

The intro began with Dinah whooping and Ditto followed up on the bass with Byron pounding a few beats on the drums. The intro lasted a full twenty-six seconds before Dinah started singing the opening lyrics, holding the microphone tight and moving in time with Ditto and Byron's beats. Everybody in the band felt that Dinah had gotten into her stride at last for her voice sounded great as she sang out the lyrics. As she performed, the blonde superheroine felt as if she had returned to something she'd left behind, and in the best way possible. She was enjoying herself, having the most fun she'd had in a while. It felt good to be singing again. She carried on as the song reached its first chorus.

 _"A fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish oooooooooooooooooooout of wateeeeeeeeeeer. A fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish oooooooooooooooooooout of wateeeeeeeeeeer."_ she sang.

All was going well with this rehearsal. The instruments sounded as they should and Dinah was hitting all the right notes in the song. If anybody was listening, they'd think this was the finished result rather than a practice-run. It was a clear sign to the band that they'd be ready to record at last. But unfortunately, what was shaping up to be a clean rehearsal was suddenly interrupted by the door of the studio opening up and somebody walking in. Dinah saw this and signalled for the band to stop playing. The music died down into silence as quickly as it had started. Eight pairs of eyes glared at the man who had walked in.

"Yo, Heathcliff, if you're gonna barge in here and interrupt us during rehearsals, at least give us a heads-up in advance!" Byron muttered, "We were just getting into the thick of things here!"

"Yeah, everything was going perfectly at last." Paloma sighed.

"Sorry girls, I really didn't wanna do this." the man named Heathcliff said timidly, "I could hear you practicing and I thought it sounded amazing! But it's urgent. You've gotta hear this."

Heathcliff Ray was the band's manager, the only male presence in this all-female rock band. He had five o'clock shadow, square spectacles and a few things about his appearance that didn't come across as ordinary. He wore a scarf, despite the weather not being cold, and he had long strands of black hair sprouting from the top of his head combed to one side. He certainly looked like he was the manager of a band with such an unusual hair-do. The spectacled manager had a roll of newspaper, today's edition, under his arm and he handed it out to the girls. Dinah took it and held it out so her bandmates could see it with her. They read:

 **NIGHT-TIME TERROR AT THE GOTHAM CITY HOSPITAL**

 **Gothamites are in mourning as a wicked attack was carried out at the Gotham City Hospital last night. It has been reported that the monster behind this horrific act was a man dressed like a plague doctor supposedly known as "The Ratcatcher". Security footage recorded that night reveals that the Ratcatcher walked straight into the hospital and began slaughtering staff with a cane that appeared to fire laser blasts of some kind. He later caused more deaths after he took the guards out with mustard gas. The gas spread through most of the bottom floors of the hospital and claimed hundreds more lives than just those of the guards. Nurses, doctors and patients died instantly when the gas struck them. It is unknown how many people were killed by the Ratcatcher's gas bomb or were shot dead by his cane, but the death toll could well be in the triple digits, maybe quadruple. It has been reported that Batman's protégé, the mysterious Batgirl, tried to stop him but was distracted by another unknown attacker, leaving him to escape before the cops could arrive. Police are investigating the attack, the GCPD's very own Commissioner Gordon suspecting that this wasn't a random, callous massacre, but instead, clean-up duty.**

 **"We were holding the members of the Gotham Rats Gang that were arrested the previous night." Gordon revealed, "It stands to reason that the Ratcatcher obviously came here to shut them up before we could get anything out of them. This hospital was a deliberate target, there was no coincidence that he just happened to come here and begin his sick attack. He clearly didn't want his gang to spill anything about him to us. We hope to find out who he is and bring him down for what he's done. Hopefully Arkham Asylum has a spare cell for that psychopath!"**

 **The GCPD also believes that the Ratcatcher may have also been behind the gruesome death of the Gotham Pets store owner, Margaret Milligan, yesterday morning. The police urge any potential witnesses to come forward if they have any information, or have seen the Ratcatcher around the city at all. His capture, they cannot stress enough, is paramount at this point.**

Dinah dropped the newspaper down on the floor in disgust, unable to believe what she'd just read. Byron and Paloma looked at each other, not sure what to say, whereas Ditto clutched Dinah tightly, looking like a frightened kid who believes there's a monster in the closet. The whole story had dampened the mood considerably, the whole band no longer feeling the urge to play. Dinah in particular felt sick to her stomach. How could she have been so foolish to think the superhero life would leave her alone for one day?! It was a mistake for her to think she'd get such a luxury. Experience had made it clear to all superheroes that nobody, speedsters, aliens, aquatic or even normal heroes could leave it behind for long. Sooner or later, that life will catch up and close its hand around you hard and refuse to let go again.

"I leave Star City for one day and this happens…" the lead singer muttered bitterly, "It's like this kind of thing just…happens around the superhero community!"

"I should've known recording our next album in Gotham was a stupid idea!" Heathcliff sighed, massaging his temples in exasperation, "I knew full well of this city's horrible reputation of crime and being full of crazy psychopaths that sound like they come from a damn comic book!"

He paused a moment to draw breath.

"If this studio wasn't renowned for producing great content, I wouldn't have bothered setting you girls up here!" Heathcliff continued, "Who knows what's gonna happen next while we're here? I'm betting there'll be some lunatic with exploding musical instruments or something that'll barge right in here and create havoc! I mean, knowing this city, it doesn't sound that implausible, right?!"

He screamed the last sentence as if to further emphasize his point. His hair had gone wild during his panicked ranting and he ran a hand through it to try and smooth it back into place. He mopped his brow as Dinah put a hand on his shoulder. Her expression was soft and sympathetic to try and ease her manager's nerves.

"You know as well as any of us that we can't just judge a city by how bad the crime rate is." she insisted, "Just because Gotham is infamous for it, doesn't mean it's a regular occurrence and that the city hasn't got its good points too. This IS the city that is home to Batman, remember?"

"Well fat lot of good HE did last night!" Heathcliff spat, "No offence to the guy, his reputation is unquestionable at this point, but you'd think he would've been on the scene to stop this Ratcatcher person!"

"Much like any superhero, he can't be anywhere at once Heath." Dinah sighed, speaking from experience more than anything, "He was probably trying to handle another crime while this was happening. As the paper stated, Batgirl was at least on scene to take him down. Just a damn shame she couldn't stop him…"

She thought back to what she'd read in the paper earlier. Batgirl had been distracted by another unknown attacker. While she would've berated Batgirl for letting the Ratcatcher get away, she supposed she might've done the same if some other creep had shown up to attack. Was this mystery person working for the Ratcatcher or was it just another criminal who just happened to be on the scene at the time? The heroine had to admit that her curiosity was piqued.

"I pray to god that this maniac doesn't come gunning for us too…" Heathcliff sighed, his eyes blinking several times.

"I think you're being paranoid." Paloma said unhelpfully, "The paper clearly stated that Ratcatcher only attacked that hospital because his gang was there. What reason would he have to attack a recording studio? We ain't got nothing of his!"

"Yes, but still, I don't wanna take any chances." the manager insisted, "I seriously think we should pack our bags and get outta here before we become collateral damage."

The band looked at each other in disapproval. Leave the studio at this important time? And just when the band had gotten back together no less? In a way, it was perfectly reasonable for Heathcliff to want to leave the studio. Anything to get away from Gotham City before its infamous criminal activities started to affect them. But on the other hand…

"Seriously Heath, you act like Gotham's the ONLY city in the world where all sorts of shit happens." Byron scoffed, "What's to say that we go to another city and we end up as collateral damage there anyway? I mean, I hear Bludhaven isn't exactly a safe place to be either…"

"Crime happens anywhere you go Heath. We can't just pack our bags and run, otherwise there'd be nowhere to record our songs." Paloma added, "No band would ever get anything done if we just did that all the time."

"Besides, you forget, you've got me in this band." Dinah noted, "The Black Canary whose name the band bears. Fighting crime is what else I'm known for. If there's any trouble, I'll deal with it. The band will be fine, don't worry about it."

Ditto nodded in agreement, folding her arms and throwing a glance at her boss that said "I concur with my friends, got a problem with that?". The band manager ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. He should've remembered what working with this band was like, with or without Dinah. They weren't necessarily known for being cooperative and could be very stubborn. Maybe deep down, he'd hoped they'd listen to him more often. He took off his glasses and gave them a quick polish.

"You have a point there." Heathcliff admitted, "I still remember the first time you used your Canary Cry whilst a part of this band. You saved all our lives, as well as the audience's, that day…maybe I am just being a bit edgy." he murmured, "Sorry, it's the fact we're in Gotham. This city just gives me bad vibes and I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Why? You scared that you'll lose a lot of profit form us if we die?" Paloma muttered sarcastically.

Heathcliff sniffed, not finding the remark funny at all.

"You've all made your points clear that there's no need to leave so we're not leaving." he said, waving a hand dismissively, "We'll stay here and record this album as planned. In hindsight, we're probably better off staying anyway as we'd have wasted precious time relocating and we haven't exactly got a long time before the deadline…" he trailed off, talking more to himself than anybody.

He turned and headed towards the door.

"You just…take care of yourselves girls. Let's hope this city doesn't claim us at any point…"

And that was that. He just left the room and closed the door behind him without another word. Now the manager was gone, the band all turned to one another. Dinah had a feeling that they were going to address the big elephant in the room, with her being that elephant.

"You're gonna be doing the superhero thing again, aren't ya?" Byron asked.

"You know me too well By." Dinah acknowledged, "I'm not gonna stand idly by while this "Ratcatcher" guy is going around slaughtering people. I know Gotham has Batman and his sidekicks, but I'm still going after him. I did say I was going solo, so this is where I can start."

She looked at each of her bandmates with apologetic eyes.

"I know, I just joined back with you guys and now I'm ready to go again." she said quickly, "I'm so sorry but…"

"Di, don't sweat it. We get exactly what you mean." Byron insisted, her face sympathetic and understanding.

"Don't let us stop you buddy." Paloma added with a smile, "You didn't let us do that the last time you left. Go out there and kick that guy's ass!" she added, pounding the air.

Ditto concurred by mimicking the keyboardist's fist-pumping move while making a face that suggested a cry of "YEAH!" without her needing to say it. It made the other two giggle. Ditto always looked cute when she was trying to be cool to them. Dinah smiled graciously in return.

"I don't know what I'd do with you girls." she said thankfully.

"Don't mention it." Byron replied casually, "Just get out there and do your thing!"

"This could even be your chance to make a name for yourself, like you originally wanted, show everybody the kind of hero you really are." Paloma noted, thinking back to yesterday when Dinah had given her reason for leaving Green Arrow for the time being.

Dinah just shook her head.

"It's not about that anymore. It's about leaving Gotham with one psychopath less than before now…" she declared.

With nothing more to say, Dinah left the room to begin her first day in Gotham as Black Canary. EP-1 would have to wait as there was more at stake now than a mere studio album to record. Who knew what this maniac would do next after attacking a hospital? Supposed he moved onto an even worse crime? He'd already killed hundreds of people with mustard gas, several of the victims possibly being children as well as adults! She wasn't going to let him get away with this. Dinah Lance made a mental vow that she wouldn't leave Gotham until the Ratcatcher was caught and caged like a rat in a pet store.

* * *

The very man that Black Canary was planning to go after wasn't having a happy start to the day himself. He emerged from his chambers, still clutching the arm that had received that crossbow bolt last night. It had been pure agony getting it out and his arm, despite the wound being stitched up, was still throbbing and he found himself clutching it and rubbing it every so often.

After being shot by a mystery assailant last night, The Ratcatcher had been quick to retreat from the hospital the moment Batgirl had swung off to catch his shooter. It was lucky for him that there was still mustard gas lurking in the hospital, otherwise the police would've been able to get to him before he could escape. Their delay in reaching him was how he'd managed to slip out of the GCH and disappear into the night, clutching his wounded arm. He knew for a fact that his identity would be compromised for they'd find samples of his blood to analyse, but he knew it was too late to do anything about it now. It wasn't even worth trying to stop them from finding it now, not when he could risk further compromising his secrets. So what if they found out who he was? They would still never find him, not when they had no idea where to look for him! Upon arriving home, he'd gotten his swarm of rats to help with treating his wound, commanding them to hand him medical supplies and helping him stitch himself up by cutting the thread with their teeth when he'd sealed it up. After a long rest, he was up again and was wandering over to where his captive was working.

He peered into the room in which the masked woman he'd chained to the table was still working feverously on the concoction she had been working on since the last time he'd seen her. She didn't look away from her work but she clearly knew he was here.

"Feel better, I hope?" she sneered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She spoke with a thick German accent, which made every word she said sound aggressive and angry.

"Watch your tone with me Doctor Poison." the Ratcatcher snapped, "I'd hate to have to consider you surplus to requirements."

"Puh. You wouldn't." Poison scoffed, "You need me and you know it. I'm the only reason your plan can carry out."

"Maybe so, but I don't necessarily need you…unharmed in order to finish your work, doctor." the masked man warned, "So I ask you, and I pray you don't make me ask again…watch your tone with me. You know I don't take behaviour like that…lightly."

To emphasize his point, he raised his cane, making his message to his prisoner very clear. Poison knew what he meant, seeing the top of the cane glisten in the light just in the corner of her eye.

"Viele Entschuldigungen, Ratcatcher." the chemist muttered, "I did not mean to upset. So what exactly DID happen last night?"

"My mission ended up being more difficult than I anticipated." the Ratcatcher sighed, "I was successful in silencing my whole gang, but unfortunately, I ended up fighting one of Gotham's protectors. Not the Batman himself, but his female counterpart. Despite being physically unimpressive in size and mass, she is every bit the fighter as Batman himself. She held her own well against me. Before our fight could conclude, I was suddenly shot in the arm by an arrow that seemed to come from nowhere…"

He massaged his arm again.

"I wonder if the shooter had meant to hit Batgirl but hit me instead. Or maybe it was trying to kill both of us, or maybe I was the intended target. Either way, Batgirl made the mistake of abandoning me to stop whoever that was from finishing the job. So I was able to escape, though not without leaving some clues that'll give the police plenty to work with…" he added bitterly.

"You no doubt left some blood behind after being shot." Poison sneered, "I wouldn't be surprised if they're performing DNA tests to find out who you are now."

"I know, I already anticipated that." the Ratcatcher grumbled, "That information will be useless to them though. They won't find us, they have no idea where to even look."

"Nein, but maybe Batman or Batgirl who whoever else wears the Bat symbol might come looking for you once they know who's blood it is." Poison retorted, "And everyone in Gotham knows how good THEY are at finding criminals. They found your gang, didn't they?"

The Ratcatcher's fist clenched tighter around his cane, itching to club his prisoner around the head with it for her insolence. But he sighed heavily and stayed his hand, letting his nerves settle instead. He agreed with Doctor Poison. She was right, the Bat-Family would easily jump on a clue like his own blood and start tracking him down. He couldn't let that happen, not when he still hadn't carried out his plan yet. If he got arrested now, everything would fall down around him! He began tapping the floor with his cane as he mulled it over.

"We'll have to destroy that evidence before it can compromise this mission in anyway." he declared, "And I know exactly what to do about it."

He turned to Doctor Poison.

"Is the formula ready for testing?" he demanded.

"It should be now." Poison replied, "I've been successfully able to artificially create the bubonic plague, as you wanted, and so far, we've had one successful test on one of your willing volunteers which, as your rats noted, was found near the local records station. It displayed all the symptoms and died as expected. Whether I've managed to make a version of the plague that's incurable, I don't know. That, we can test."

"Then let's do so." the rat-obsessed criminal insisted.

A few minutes later, the test was set-up. The Ratcatcher once again, ordered one of his rats to come forward and be the unwilling test subject for this plague Doctor Poison had created. He hated having to sacrifice any of his beloved rats for this, but he reasoned with himself that it was worth sacrificing a few rats if it meant the death of the human race. The rat's deaths were for a good cause and there was no shame in that. The rat, this one completely black save for its legs, ears, nose and tail, was put in a glass cage that had a sliding door to trap or release the rat. Once it was put inside, Doctor Poison picked up a pair of tweezers and used it to carefully pick up a small spherical object that contained the bubonic plague she'd created. Yersinia Pestis as it was known in Latin. Yersinia Pestis was also known by another particularly infamous name...the Black Death.

During the medieval period of history, the Black Death had erupted in Europe and had wiped out one third of the continent's population. It was said that at the time of the disease, survival in London alone was just one in ten. It seemed a cruel irony to be testing this artificially created version of the plague on a rat as rats were the main culprits in the spreading of the disease. They had carried the fleas that had carried the plague itself thus, had unwillingly played a part in what had been one of mankind's most infamous periods of history ever recorded. The disease still exists to this day, but unlike before, the Black Death is actually treatable. Doctor Poison and the Ratcatcher were going to see if their version wasn't.

The German chemist slid open the glass cage door a crack and lowered the sphere into it. She squeezed the tweezers so hard that the sphere shattered, releasing its lethal contents. So she and her captor wouldn't get infected, she withdrew the tweezers and quickly shut the cage. There was nothing the rat could do except breathe in the cloud of black smoke that drifted around its cage with nowhere to go. The cage was completely sealed so the disease wouldn't spread anywhere else. As this plague was artificially created, it had a different effect than it would've had normally. The disease acted alarmingly quickly, the rat already beginning to show signs of the infamous plague. Black warts began to swell over its body after ten minutes had passed and it was already staggering feebly, barely able to move or stay conscious. Seeing that the disease had worked, Poison quickly picked up another sphere with her tweezers and dropped it into the cage after cracking it open. This sphere contained the cure for the bubonic plague. Several classes of antibiotics were able to treat the disease, including streptomycin and gentamicin, tetracyclines especially doxycycline, and the fluoroquinolone ciprofloxacin. The cure Poison had created was one of those antibiotics. She and the Ratcatcher watched as the cure, which was in the form of blue smoke, drifted around the cage and the rat feebly staggered through it. Nothing happened. The poor rat was still diseased and the cure wasn't making any difference to its condition. It was just lingering around the cage with nothing to do. The rat lay slumped on the floor, struggling to breath as the plague grew worse. The Ratcatcher hated seeing it suffer like this so he turned away, hoping that now the test was successful, this would be the last rat he'd have to offer for testing. Doctor Poison turned to him.

"It works!" she exclaimed, "The plague is immune to the cures for it!"

"That means the plan is ready to go ahead." the Ratcatcher murmured, surprisingly sounding unenthusiastic about the whole thing, "We start off by targeting the GCPD so that my blood will be of no use to them. If all goes well there, we unleash the plague into the city. And after that...the whole world."

"And then will you FINALLY release me?" Poison demanded, tugging on the chains that kept her bound to the table.

"As I promised." the masked man purred, though Doctor Poison wasn't convinced that he meant it.

He summoned a bunch of rats to climb up onto the table so Doctor Poison could fit them with the bombs that would carry the Black Plague into Gotham City. The rats would carry the bombs over to GCPD and crack the bombs open with their teeth, then flee before the plague could infect them. Once the plague was unleashed, GCPD would become a graveyard...

* * *

"Morning Anne."

"Morning Helena. How are you?"

"Nothing changed but the weather as they say."

"True. Did you walk into a door again? You look pretty badly bruised!"

Helena Bertinelli wasn't surprised that her injuries were still visible. They weren't as bad as they had been but they still hadn't fully healed up yet. At the very least, yesterday's day-off meant that the her colleagues didn't see them at their worst, otherwise they'd really have a cause for concern. The men she'd beaten up in that hallway had managed to land some mean blows on her and the bruises she'd received were still there, ugly patches of blue & purple marring her beautiful face. At least her uniform hid the ugly scar left across the back of her shoulders when one of the men had tried to stab her, that would've really worried them. The woman she'd been talking to, Anne, shook her head disapprovingly. Anne was a teacher at Gotham Academy and had been working there for many years. She was quite attractive and was notorious for having fiery red hair which was dyed to look redder than it naturally did. She had become friends with Helena upon her first day on the job and of course, always grew concerned when she saw her friend come into work with a collection of injuries to show.

"Seriously Helena, I'm beginning to wonder if you have some kind of condition you're not telling us about." she sighed, "You're SO accident-prone! Every time you come into Gotham Elementary, you always look a little banged up. Are you being abused?"

"No, I'm not being abused." Helena snapped, "I'm just that, accident-prone. I've always been a clumsy little girl and sadly, I don't seem to have outgrown it."

"Well I hope you don't trip over the carpet or whatever while you're here. I'd hate to have to call 911 because you fell over and hit your head." Anne muttered, "The poor children would have a school-day they'd never forget, and not for the right reasons."

"Have I had any accidents while working in this place?" Helena retorted.

"No, they just seem to happen outside of school." Anne remarked, "A strange coincidence, don't you think?"

"Maybe this place has a positive impact on me." the Catholic woman snickered, earning a quick, sarcastic smile from Anne.

Helena didn't want this conversation to go on any further so she decided to change the subject. She hated it whenever Anne asked about her injuries. She felt bad having to lie to her about them and keep her in the dark about her costumed life as Huntress. How could this teacher possibly understand the other side of her? How could she even look at her again if she knew? Helena wouldn't put is past Anne to even call the cops on her, especially if she knew about the enormous body count she'd stacked up over the years. It wouldn't matter to her that they were all bad guys. It was unfortunate that only a select few ever understand the meaning of "they're criminals, they deserve to die" and thus, they'd get punished for taking down the people who deserve it.

"Do you wanna grab some coffee before the children arrive for today's lessons?" Helena asked.

"Already had mine on the way here." Anne replied, "And the school's had some calls to say we're gonna be having some absences today."

"Why, what's happened?"

Despite asking the question, Helena had a dark feeling she knew what the answer was.

"Did you hear about that attack on the Gotham City Hospital last night?" the red-head asked.

It was just as she'd suspected. Somehow, Helena had thought last night's events would be connected in some way. Of course she knew all about it, having been there as Huntress but she decided to put up a pretense to avoid suspicion.

"I didn't read any papers or listen to the radio before I got here." she admitted, which wasn't exactly a lie for she had indeed done neither of those things on the way to school, "What did happen?"

"From what I hear, some maniac who looks like he walked out of a history book broke into the hospital and murdered several people that were apparently working for him." Anne explained, "I read all about it in the Gotham Gazette while I was waiting for you."

She handed over the newspaper to Helena so she could read it for herself. She just handed it back. The Catholic woman didn't need to read about something she already knew about. It made her mind burn with anger to think that this monster had been able to get away with his crimes and that impudent Batgirl had stopped her from putting him down! Who knew what he would do next while he was still alive and able to slaughter more innocents!

"So what does this have to do with today's absences?" Helena asked, "Are you saying that...that..." She didn't dare finish the sentence.

"There were hundreds of patients and staff at that hospital who were killed because the masked man had some mustard gas with him." Anne explained, "Some of those patients were teachers at this school, students or relatives of the students. Because of that freak, we're gonna be a little hard-pressed today as we're a little shorter on staff than usual and some students are needing time off to recover from this tragedy. It...it's just sick that somebody could do this! How could anyone just walk into a hospital and slaughter so many people like that?!"

She put her hands over her mouth to keep herself from breaking down in hysterics. Helena approached her friend and gave her a comforting hug to ease her nerves. Deep inside, she was boiling with enough anger to please the master of the Red Lanterns himself, Atrocitus. It was one thing that the Ratcatcher had killed helpless patients, but now he'd left several of her students without a family member and completely grief-stricken! No child should have to experience losing any loved one at their ages! She thought back to the children she'd saved from Mandragora's men the other night. They had been reunited with their families and were now able to move on from the horrors of being kidnapped and held prisoner. How happy they had been to be freed and rescued from those men, but they had also been put through a hell they should never have experienced and would likely, never forget. Children should be allowed to live their lives free of worry and full of innocence. Snatching their childhood away like that was the worst thing anyone could do to them! She was so full of anger that Anne noticed the black-haired woman seemed to be trembling.

"Are you OK?" she asked.

"Fine. I'm just gonna take a bathroom break. I'll be right back." Helena grumbled.

She let go of Anne and headed off to the ladies toilets. She didn't actually need to relive herself, she just needed some alone time so she wouldn't take her anger out on anybody. As soon as she entered the toilets, she bent over the sink and grabbed the edges. Her knuckles turned white with how hard she was clutching the sink. Helena felt like she could rip it out of its place and smash it on the floor. Her arms were rigid and she began panting heavily. The Catholic girl was seeing red, the whole world turning the colour of blood in front of her. So many innocents dead, some of them children! The Ratcatcher still roaming free! And it was all Batgirl's fault for interfering! She could've killed that son of a bitch right there! It wouldn't have saved those people from dying, that much Helena knew, but at least it would've brought an end to his crimes and given him the punishment he deserved! Unable to hold it in anymore, Helena finally unleashed the beast that was inside of her.

Letting out a blood-curdling scream of anguish, she lashed out and punched the mirror above the sink as hard as she could. She didn't stop there though. She punched it several more times, cracking it more and more with each punch until finally, she broke the mirror. Shards of glass cascaded down into the sink and onto the floor. Helena's knuckles were bruised and bloodied from the punches, some of her blood marking the spot where she'd broken the mirror. She panted heavily, her hair tumbling over her face as she bent over the sink again.

"You spared me so I could deliver righteous punishment to those who sin...and yet you spared one of them!" Helena grumbled, looking up to the ceiling as if thinking God himself was up there looking at her, "You prevented me from killing that bastard so he can go onto continuing committing cardinal sin wherever he goes! Why?! Why my Lord?! Give me an answer! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"

She received no answer. Sighing loudly, Helena stood away from the sink and ran a hand through her hair in exasperation.

"Great...now I'm talking to the ceiling." she muttered, "I must come off as fit for Arkham Asylum at this point."

Just as she finished that sentence, the door opened up and in walked Anne, her face a mask of concern for her friend. Helena looked at her, her eyes as dark as night. She supposed Anne had heard her screaming. Of course she had, she'd screamed loud enough to wake the entire school up! The red-haired teacher's eyes were wide with astonishment.

"Helena, what the hell was that about?! Did you do that?!" Anne shrieked, staring at the broken mirror.

Helena didn't answer. She just let her bloodied knuckles answer the question for her, another injury to the museum of bruises, cuts and scars her body had become. Anne stared back at Helena, now feeling frightened of her. She never knew she had anger issues, this kind of behaviour was unusual for her to display. Still stunned, Anne swallowed nervously.

"I think you might be better off going home..." she said hoarsely.

"Yes. Maybe. Last thing I need is to punch one of the teachers." Helena agreed.

She loved her job and enjoyed teaching, but she didn't want to be here when she was so full of anger and fury for the Ratcatcher. What if she snapped and took it out on a student? She'd never forgive herself for that atrocity. She walked past Anne, glancing at her one last time so she could tell her something.

"If anyone asks, just say I'm very sick and I can't stay. And don't tell anyone about the mirror."

Anne nodded, watching her friend leave the toilets and head off back to the main entrance. She could see that today's news had affected her terribly. That woman really seemed to have a close connection to kids, didn't she? She shook her head sadly, feeling sorry for Helena. She hoped her friend would feel better the next day and be able to interact with the students again. Some of them would be happy to see her again and might feel brighter after such a dark time last night.

Outside, Helena was heading off home, taking a turn towards the street and walking all the way. She always walked to work, preferring to keep in shape and not rely on a car to get her places unless necessary. She imagined she'd probably end up crashing it by accident as she would be too full of rage to concentrate properly. Besides, the fresh air would clear her mind. Helena inhaled and exhaled, relieved to have the fresh, morning air to sweep over her again. It felt refreshing after getting heated up back in the toilets. But it wouldn't get rid of all the anger. As she walked, Helena had only one thought on her mind.

 _I'm gonna kill that bastard. Next time I see the Ratcatcher, I am gonna KILL him!_

She knew what she would do tonight. It would be time for Huntress to walk the streets of Gotham again, and this time, Batgirl wouldn't interfere...

* * *

"You know what to do my brothers and sisters. Now...go and exterminate your oppressors!"

That was all the Ratcatcher had needed to say to get his squadron of rats to go out into Gotham City to carry out what would be the first step in his genocidal ambitions. He was standing by the door, staring out into the city before him with the rats he'd picked to carry out this mission by his feet. After giving the order, the squad very quickly moved into action, scurrying out of his lair and into the city to search for the GCPD. Once again, their master's commands had overridden all natural thoughts and instincts in the rodent's minds. All that mattered to them now was doing what they'd been told.

Each rat had been fitted with a capsule containing Doctor Poison's artificially created plague on their backs, the capsules held in place by harnesses that the Ratcatcher had fitted them with. There was no danger of the capsules falling off as they were securely attached to the harnesses. They hated having to wear them but of course, the Ratcatcher was suppressing their desires to try and bite them off and forcing them to put up with them.

The rats scuttled out into the vast metropolis as fast as their little legs would carry them, heading straight for the sewers so they couldn't get run over by cars or trod on by civilians. The Ratcatcher didn't want any of his squad to be stepped on and activate the plague too early, not when his target was the GCPD and a premature release of the plague could kill the whole squadron. Going through the sewers, the rats would be safer there and they'd all make it to the police station in one piece. And luckily for his little friends, the Ratcatcher knew where to direct them so they'd still get to the GCPD even if they couldn't see the surface world above. In a couple of minutes, every single rat had crawled into the sewers and was making its way towards the police station. The sewers were no stranger to the little rodents given that it was quite common to find them there. To some, the putrid smells of sewage waste and rancid waters and the sight of slimy walls was quite familiar to them as the Ratcatcher had found them living in these tunnels before taking them in. The smell didn't bother them, nor deter them from their mission. They still scurried onwards through the tunnels, their pace never slowing for a second.

Half an hour later, they arrived at their destination. They emerged up through a manhole that was just behind the GCPD and rushed over to the nearby building. Like any building in the city, the GCPD came off as a towering behemoth of steel to them, much bigger than any predator that hunted them down, but it didn't bother the rats for a minute. Rodents like them were always climbing to great heights so why worry about the height of the building now? But it seemed they wouldn't have to climb up anywhere to get inside. the fire exit door opened up and one of the policemen working inside stepped out to get a moment of fresh air and to enjoy a soothing cigarette break. He wasn't looking down at the ground at all so he never noticed the rats as they scurried behind him and slipped inside through the fire exit just before he could close it. It was lucky for them that the door was a fire exit, a door that couldn't be opened from the outside so the guard wouldn't close it all the way unless he wanted to lock himself out the building. He kept it open a crack so when he'd had his cigarette, he could get back in. He puffed on his cigarette, unaware of the tiny little intruders he'd unwillingly let inside.

Now the rats were in the building, they could carry out their sabotage mission. Half of the rats went one way and the other half went another way. The first half was going to cut off the power supply while the other would begin spreading the plague they were carrying. None of the officers were aware of this as they just carried out their daily routines, roaming from room to room and chatting to one another. The rats kept to the shadows and moved quickly and quietly so as not to draw any attention to themselves. It seemed to work for nobody had seen them yet.

As the rats were carrying out their mission, a group of officers were in the forensics lab to finally get the results for the blood samples they'd taken from the Ratcatcher after he'd been shot last night. They'd had to wait for other DNA tests to be done as the world had about 7 billion people to deal with and DNA tests couldn't be done in a matter of minutes. At best, they took about 1-2 days to carry out, some taking even longer. At least now, they were finally going to get a step closer to uncovering the identity of the Ratcatcher. Or so they thought. As the machine was scanning the blood samples, it stopped working and went dead in a second. Then most of the lights went out, plunging the GCPD into darkness. The second half of the squad had managed to find the main power supply and had made short work of it. Just a simple gnawing of cables was enough to make all the lights go off and wipe out all power to the station. The working officers expressed a mixture of puzzlement and unease, wondering what had just happened. One officer sighed in annoyance and yelled out loud to nobody in particular.

"Ugh...Gary, did you trip over the cable again?!" he muttered.

"Gary's still on vacation sir." another officer reminded him.

"Well it's still his fault!" the first officer retorted, "Somebody get down there and put the power back on!"

The second officer obeyed and ran off to go to the main generator to see what had gone wrong. He never got anywhere near the generator before the first half of the rats made their move. They didn't have to hide anymore now the power had gone off, it was too dark for anyone to see them so they could scurry about as much as they liked. That also meant they could crack open their capsules and release the plague. The rats all took turns in taking the capsules off of each other's backs and then running throughout the GCPD to crack them open and contaminate the whole building. The ones that had taken out the power supply were doing the same thing now they'd done their job. Using their teeth, the rats broken up the capsules and made a run for it so they wouldn't be infected. All over the GCPD, clouds of black smoke drifted over the officers, who were still trying to see in the dark. They couldn't see the plague being released as the darkness camouflaged it perfectly. It had no taste or smell too, so nobody had any idea on what was happening...until it was too late.

The plague took hold in a matter of minutes. Thanks to Doctor Poison's work, the bubonic plague worked at a much more accelerated rate than the actual disease itself. The fates of the officers were practically sealed the moment the capsules were broken open by the rats. It acted a little slower on the officers as they weren't rats, but it still took hold very quickly. As the policemen and policewomen were trying to get the power back on, some of them started to feel unwell. And then the tell-tale signs of the infamous plague began to show. Black spots began to appear on their skin and they were starting to feel nauseous. One officer had a flashlight to see his way through the dark and he shone it on one of his men. The grisly sight of his blotchy skin and black swellings made him cry out in horror.

"Sweet Jesus, what's happened to you?!" he exclaimed.

"Ugh...what do you mean officer?" the second policeman asked groggily, his voice croaky and sickly.

He then began coughing loudly, specks of blood staining the floor. What made the sight even worse was that the blood was stained black. The officer with the torch staggered back in horror, unable to believe what he was seeing. Another officer, this one a woman, staggered towards him, clutching her head.

"Ugh...it seems...to be happening all over the station." she muttered queasily, "Everybody's...getting infected by...whatever this...is."

She was so weak from the plague that she couldn't even stand up anymore. She collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath. Several other officers began collapsing too, succumbing to the disease. The officer with the flashlight shook nervously, worried if he would be next. He was about to run off, but another officer stopped him.

"Where are you going?" he demanded.

"I'm getting out of here before this disease takes me too!" he cried.

"No, don't flee from here." the second officer insisted, "If you're contaminated, you'll just spread the plague. It's best we all die in here instead of infecting anybody else."

The first officer supposed he had a point. Whatever this was, it was best to keep it contained. It wasn't like he could've got out anyway as he was infected too and the disease as just starting to take a hold of him. He began to feel unwell, the poor man now faced with the terrible truth that he was a goner. The officer that had stopped him running away was also infected, black splotches appearing on his face and neck. And all the while the officers in the station were collapsing and dying, the rats had all scurried away safely through a door that had just been opened. Their mission had been accomplished. And back in his lair, the Ratcatcher had seen it all through their eyes that they'd been completely stressful. His face twisted into a grin of pleasure behind his mask, the first time he'd smiled in quite a while. How glorious it was to see everything going his way! Now the culling of mankind would be able to begin...

* * *

The news got out quickly on what had happened to the GCPD. Commissioner Gordon had been one of the first to hear about it. He had been out on patrol with Harvey Bullock and Renee Montoya at the time this had happened, and at the end of the day, he'd consider himself lucky he had been for he'd been spared this nightmare. An officer at the GCPD had radioed him to tell him not to return to base as it was contaminated with some kind of disease. Gordon had believed the officer and had taken his warning to heart. After all, this WAS Gotham City, bio-chemical attacks had been carried out in the past be it Poison Ivy or the Scarecrow and his Fear Toxins, so what's to stop Gotham's scum from creating another virus to kill people with? He didn't come anywhere near the GCPD until it had been cordoned off and the paramedics team had come in to decontaminate the area. Gordon watched from behind police lines as men in biohazard suits entered the GCPD to observe the dead bodies that had piled up inside. His heart sank to hear that every single person in the building was dead. Renee and Harvey shared his dismay, taking their hats off and holding them over their hearts out of respect for the fallen.

"I tell ya commish, dis week is gettin' weirder and weirder." Bullock muttered.

"First the pet store, then the hospital and now there's an attack on GCPD." Renee added, her eyes narrowed, "Where will we end up next? The local sports club?"

"I don't think this is a coincidence." Jim muttered, "The Ratcatcher knows we have samples of his blood to analyze. He must've been responsible for this! He has every reason to want everybody dead in there!"

"The dick's got mustard gas as we found out last night, shouldn't be surprised he's pulling this stunt off too." Harvey agreed.

"I doubt he's working alone." Renee added, "Do you think he might be working with someone else? Like, someone who's great at concocting poisons like this? I mean, this kind of thing sounds like Poison Ivy's doing if you ask me."

"I don't think so. Dat tree-huggin' broad would never work with a guy like him." Harvey said disagreeably.

"Maybe she would as there's benefits for her plants to be made out of slaughtering hundreds." Gordon mused.

The trio were then interrupted as one of the men in the bio-hazard suits approached them. He took off his mask so he could make himself more easily heard. His face was red and drenched in sweat from how hot it was inside the suit. The fresh air on his face was a welcome relief for him.

"Looking over all the bodies sir, I think we've got an idea on what kind of disease it was that killed them all." he announced.

"What was it?" Gordon asked, his voice tense.

"The bubonic plague...or as we popularly refer to is as: the Black Death." the bio-man replied, "They display all the symptoms, black splotches, certain swellings, coughing up blood, all the symptoms you can name. The question remains on how they were infected by this particular plague. We'll have to look into that."

The answer had taken all three law officials by surprise. Jim, Harvey and Renee were so taken aback that they didn't know what to say for a moment. All Gordon could think of to respond to that was to simply reply:

"Thanks for letting us know."

With that, he turned away to leave the bio-man and the rest of his team to carry out their work. There was nothing else he could do here. Harvey and Renee followed him.

"The Black Death...gotta say, I didn't expect that." Harvey murmured.

"So from looks of things, it seems the Ratcatcher's using the Black Death somehow." Renee thought, "How insane do you have to be to weaponize something like THAT?"

"Crazier than The Joker I guess, although knowing him, he'd think this is funny." Gordon growled, "We have to catch that maniac before he unleashes a whole plague on the city!"

"But how? We don't even know where he is and it's not like we can use all our resources with GCPD currently being out of bounds!" Bullock exclaimed, "We could be on a wild goose chase for all we know!"

"Which is why we oughta ask you-know-who to help us out." Gordon replied, "Either him or one of his sidekicks."

He of course wasn't going to bring this up to Batman. He had his own daughter in mind for this task, as much as he hated the thought of setting her up against a maniac with a biochemical weapon like a way to use the Black Death the way he did on the GCPD. If anyone could find the Ratcatcher, it'd be her. He imagined her computer skills could be put to good use on this case. He'd give Barbara a call and let her know all about this situation, though he imagined she probably already knew at this point.

Unknown to he or his two colleagues, somebody else had been on the scene taking in what had happened. But it wasn't a policeman or policewoman of any kind. Watching the whole scene from a nearby alleyway...was Black Canary. She had been roaming around Gotham in search of information about the Ratcatcher and had come across the contaminated GCPD. She'd been hiding in this alleyway the whole time Gordon had been talking with Bullock, Montoya and the bio-man and had been sickened to hear that a whole bunch of men had been killed by the bubonic plague and how it seemed likely the Ratcatcher was responsible for it.

"Not much to go on, but it's a start I guess." Black Canary shrugged, "At least it gives me some idea on what kind of psychopath I'm dealing with. I best help in tracking down this creep before more bodies start piling up."

She left her spot and headed off into the city. She'd be back again at nightfall, knowing that was when the criminal underworld liked to show its ugly face. She could question any goons out on the streets and see if they knew anything about the Ratcatcher and where to find him. And then once she found him, she would put him in a cell that even a rat couldn't escape from! But tonight was going to be an eventful night for Black Canary, and not in a way she could've expected...

* * *

 _ **It seems we're getting closer and closer to the titular team-up. The Ratcatcher's making his move and the three heroines are all going to have an agenda against him as far as things are going. Who will get to him first? Will they find him in time before he unleashes the Black Plague on Gotham City? Or will it be medieval Europe all over again...?**_

 _ **Tune in next time as the Birds of Prey are finally "Coming Together"...**_


End file.
